The Bounty
by Mike Taurguss
Summary: Sequel to Full Circle! Gabrielle said yes! Now she and her new finacee', David have to deal with another small issue. The massive price on Gabrielle's head, complements of the enigmatic Gurkhan! Please R&R!
1. The Bounty

The Character of Gabrielle doesn't belong to me and no financial gain was made by this publication (more's the pity).

"Pop Quiz Hotshot: You return home to discover that an individual with virtually unlimited resources has placed a price on your head. What do you do?"

**The Bounty**

The brigand charged in again. David Forester ducked beneath the sweep of his opponents' sword, kicking his leg out and spinning low. The assailant's feet flipped up from beneath him and he crashed to the ground with a thud, his weapon bouncing out of his hand.

David rolled over and brought his heel down into the man's forehead, sending him into unconsciousness.

"You know!" he said quickly as he jumped back to his feet, scooping up the fallen sword and dropping his bow behind him. "I've been thinking!"

Gabrielle kicked another opponent in the chest, sending him stumbling back, her sais writhing in her hands like two things alive.

She deflected another sword and spun in, driving her elbow into the nose of a heavyset man. His expression went blank at the impact and he fell back with a grunt.

"Oh?" She replied, spinning to block a downward sweep of another sword. She kicked up in between the man's legs. The man cried out and dropped his weapon, his hands coving his afflicted genitals. Gabrielle punched him in the nose and he also fell. "What about?"

David winced in sympathy and parried another jab from the fourth brigand. He trapped his opponent's blade, dropped it, let loose with a quick series of jabs, stunning his opponent and then knocked him skyward with a vicious uppercut. The last man sprawled on the ground.

"Well," David breathed heavily from the exertion. "You don't like boats. So Sparta would be out. We're still going to have the ceremony in Athens, right?"

Gabrielle stepped over to him, and her foot jabbed out to render one of the recovering thieves' unconscious for a second time.

"Yes?" She asked, smiling, her eyes looking over the four motionless men lying about their little fire.

"Well," David wiped his sleeve across his mouth. "Gurkhan's sent every thug he could find into this area."

"Yes?" Gabrielle looked at him with her brilliant green eyes.

David Shrugged. "How about Egypt for the honeymoon?"

"Egypt?" Gabrielle asked. "That would still mean a boat." She crossed her arms.

"Not necessarily," David countered, smiling in return. "We'll take the scenic route. That way, we have time to travel for a while, and we can get out of the area until these bounty hunters get tired of looking for us?"

"Let me think about it," Gabrielle answered neutrally. "I might be persuaded into dealing with a boat trip." Her gaze darkened seductively for a moment.

"Oh?" David smiled, and then he looked at the four figures lying about the campsite.

"So, you think one of these is Valcis?"

Gabrielle put one arm around his neck and also looked the men over.

"I doubt it." She finally sighed. "These four were amateurs. Probably just robbers preying on merchant traffic, or a band looking to get rich quick." She sighed. "Valcis is a professional bounty hunter - one of the best. If he were here, we might not have been so lucky with these four."

David shrugged. He went over to his backpack and fished out a long coil of rope and a knife.

The two of them had been attempting to lose themselves in the wilderness for the past month, ever since they had learned about the price on Gabrielle's head. The contract had apparently been initiated by Gurkhan, the Warlord. The enigmatic warlord had held a grudge against Gabrielle ever since she and Xena had infiltrated his compound and freed his entire harem of wives, including Gabrielle's niece, Sara.

Apparently, the warlord had not forgotten that insult and was now directing a rather healthy percentage of his considerable resources to gain his revenge.

Gabrielle and David had decided to lose themselves in the wilderness until things calmed down. They had anticipated only a week or two, but the attacks had been a constant concern now for nearly twice that long. Even with the multitude of dehydrated foods David had managed to stuff into the large knapsack he wore on his shoulders, their supplies had begun to dwindle.

They had also noted that many of the marauding bands had changed from highly trained experts, to thieving bunches of rogues and brigands. If they captured the one with the price on her head, so be it. If it was simply another traveling individual, or small group, there was still profit to be made from that as well. The roads in and out of Poditea had become more treacherous than anyone could ever remember.

"Well," he said as he began binding the four men. "We can try and drop them off back in town and let the authorities deal with them?"

Gabrielle nodded. "That's fine with me."

"I wonder if there's a bounty on any of these morons?" David mused.

"David," Gabrielle folded her arms. "Why do you always think about money?"

"Cause there isn't a Harley dealer in the area?" David grinned. "Besides, we'll need supplies eventually, and we'll need money to buy said supplies?" His eyebrow rose.

Gabrielle looked at him for a moment.

"Do you ever miss it?" she asked. "The time that you came from?"

"Sometimes," David admitted. "When my dogs start hurting."

Gabrielle shrugged. There was another one of his modern terms. "Dogs?"

"My feet," David smiled. "You know, the things at the end of my legs."

"Why do you call them "dogs"?" Gabrielle asked, shaking her head in amusement.

David trussed up the last of the would-be attackers.

"It's a slang thing," David smiled.

Gabrielle looked at her fiancé, smiling in surrender. There was the man that had defied Time itself to win her. He sat before her, dressed in the same modern garments he had arrived in. The long dark gray coat, the thick black leather-riding jacket beneath it and the leather vest over the long sleeved pullover. Blue denim pants and tough utilitarian black boots completed his wardrobe.

Her smile faded a bit when she looked at his face. A vicious looking scar criss-crossed over his left eye. His glass eye. He had lost that eye during her adventure into the future.

She remembered the whole incident with the Chronos stone, and suppressed the sudden shudder at the darker memories.

"You alright?" David asked.

"Yeah," Gabriele said. "Just thinking."

"Uh oh," David teased. "What about? You're not having second thoughts, are you?"

"No," Gabrielle said quickly. "No, not at all." She went over to him and kissed his cheek. Then she stroked his face. "I'm just sorry about all the things you had to give up. Your friends, your time, your magical abilities," she looked at him. "Your eye."

David shrugged. Then he touched his finger to the side of his neck. "I still got a pulse? And we don't know that my magical skills are truly gone." he offered. Then his smile softened. "I made my choice." He stared at her for a long time. "Don't feel guilty, okay? I don't regret it at all."

She nodded, and then looked at the four men, lined up and bound before her. One of them began to stir, groaning in pain.

"Ah," David grinned. "Hello there, Sleeping Beauty." He rose and stepped over in front of the man. "Here we go again."

The man looked up and saw David crouching in front of him, his own sword in David's hand.

"Hi." David said cheerfully. He tapped the point of the weapon on the stony ground and shrugged.

"We have a little problem, here," he said. "You see, we were on our way to Athens, enjoying a little pre-wedding vacation, and then you four monkeys come barging in and ruin a nice little romantic interlude. I should be annoyed by this, yes?" He looked up at Gabrielle and gave her a quick wink.

She covered her mouth to hide the smile.

"Now," David's face went hard. "When I get annoyed. Bad, bad things tend to happen." He raised the sword and laid it flat on top of the man's shoulder, slowly sliding it back and forth next to the man's throat.

The man's dark eyes widened with fear as David looked at him with total detachment.

"I realize that I can be moody at times, right honey?"

"Oh, absolutely," Gabrielle stifled her laugh as she watched the scene.

"And right at the moment, I'm feeling kind of tense," David said. "Anxious, maybe a little repressed, and my therapist said I shouldn't keep things locked up inside." He smiled. "I think that's extremely good advice. So I'm going to give you one chance to let it all out." The blade stopped and the man felt cold steel touching his flesh.

"What?" the man stammered.

"Well," David resumed the slow deliberate movement of the blade. "You can start by telling me who sent you?"

"No one sent us!" The man blurted.

David shook his head. "See, that's what I mean. You're holding it in, and that's not healthy." The blade tapped once on the man's shoulder. "Three of you came straight at me, and only one after the young lady. Now that tells me that you wanted me dead, and her alive, so, once more, from the top?"

The man shook in his britches for a few moments and then said quickly.

"Gurkhan's bounty!" he blurted.

Gabrielle had to turn away, knowing what would come next.

David's eyebrows rose in a mixture of surprise and affront. Then he looked at Gabrielle again with resignation. That expression quickly changed to something more mischievous, but only for an instant. When he looked back at his prisoner, his whole demeanor seemed to change again in one second. He oozed confidence and authority in a way that he hadn't a moment before.

"Bounty?" he asked with the air of an impatient employer. "The contract I sent out said that I wanted the Blonde Bard from Poditea!"

The would-be kidnapper froze, looking at David with renewed fear.

"You sent?" he stammered. "No, that's not possible! Tindis, there, met with Gurkhan. That's how we got the job!"

"A lot of people claim to meet with me," David replied, pouring it on thicker as he went. "That's because I allow my agents to use my name when they do business." He narrowed his eyes at the man. "It allows me to enjoy my privacy. Now, the contract was for a blonde haired young lady that traveled with woman called Xena. Do you see a blonde woman here?"

The man looked at Gabrielle, noting that she did not have blonde hair. Her hair was actually a deep dark auburn red at present. Another of the little details from her previous adventure with her betrothed.

The man shook his head.

"No, I didn't think so," David looked down the line at a second man, now stirring back to wakefulness. "Ah, would that be Tindis?"

The man nodded.

David rose and then knelt down in front of the second man. It was the one that had received the kick to the groin from Gabrielle.

"You know," David said, continuing his little act. "When I hire someone to do a job for me, I expect them to follow my instructions to the letter." He fished inside the man's tunic and found the rolled parchment. Drawing it out, he handed it to Gabrielle.

"You not only tried to take deceive of me, you also tried to kill me. I don't appreciate that."

Tindis, a young man with features more apt for a rodent than a person, stared up at him with beady, nervous eyes.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

David stood up. "As I was explaining to your oh so intelligent associate there.You were sent to find Gabrielle, the Bard of Poditea, instead, I find you wasting my time." He kicked dirt over the fire, smothering the flames. "You're fired."

"What?"

"I'm rescinding this contract," David said. "Oh, if any of you are so foolish as to come to my palace, my guards will kill you on sight, do you understand?"

"You're Gurkhan?" Tindis asked in awe.

"Shut up!" David hissed at him. Instantly, the stolen sword was at the man's throat."I should kill you just for saying that out loud!"

"My Lord," Gabrielle said quickly, playing her part. "Don't kill him this early in the evening. It always gets you so worked up, and then you don't rest."

David sighed, seemingly depressed at that idea. Then he fixed Tindis with a somewhat bemused, yet manic look.

"She knows me so well," He said. "I make it a point never to argue with a lady. That's also good advice."

He joined Gabrielle at the far side of the camp and collected the rest of his gear and his bow, slinging it over the large pack on his shoulders. Then he looked at the four restrained kidnappers and smiled wryly.

"Hopefully you'll get free before the wolves find you," he said, and then he and Gabrielle turned and vanished into the trees.

"Um, David, sweetheart?" Gabrielle asked, once they were out of earshot. "Weren't we going to turn them in at the village?"

David shrugged. "They won't mess with anyone for a while," he said. "Besides, now we can see what this is all about?"  
He unrolled the dirty parchment and a low whistle escaped his lips.

"Hello! Listen to this: the sum of twenty-five thousand dinars shall be paid to the person or persons who can procure, dead or alive, the Bard of Poditea named Gabrielle," he read aloud. A brief but detailed description of her followed. He sighed. "I'm tempted to turn you in myself."

"I'm tempted to turn myself in," Gabrielle replied as she took the parchment from him and read it. "Here's the part I don't like," she murmured. "Dead or alive."

"Yeah," David nodded. "That means Valcis won't even try and capture you alive."

Gabrielle looked at him. "You know, the whole "blonde" thing isn't going to work much longer." She pointed to her hair. "And neither is your playing Gurkhan every time we get the chance?"

David saw the blond roots coming in beneath the dark color. He sighed.

"I know," he said. "But it has been useful. That was how we found out about the contract in the first place. We'll just have to think of something else."

Gabrielle looked resigned. "I can't spend the rest of my life on the run, David. I have to end this, one way or another."

"That means a trip on a boat, Gabrielle," David said. "You told me about how you and boats don't mix?"

"I know," Gabrielle sighed. "But I might not have a choice."

"_We_ might not have a choice, you mean?" David corrected her. "We're in this together."

Gabrielle smiled. "I'm still getting used to that."

The night was still young, and with the excitement of the fight, neither one of them felt like resting, so they adjusted their course and headed towards Athens. They made a good start of it before they noticed the roiling storm clouds in the sky. There was a flash of light somewhere high in the heavens and the air took on the damp scent of coming rain.

"We might as well find another place to camp for the night," David suggested. "Otherwise we're going to get wet."

They found a small, secluded clearing, well away from the main path and quickly began to set up.

Gabrielle found three long branches and expertly lashed them together, building a small, lean to for them to sleep under. David watched her for a moment and smiled.

"I thought you didn't want to get wet?" he asked.

"If you'd help me with this, we won't," Gabrielle replied.

David held up a finger, stopping her and fished around in his large knapsack.

"What, you carry a house in that bag?" Gabrielle laughed.

"Ah, ye of little faith," David countered. "I had almost three days to get ready for my excursion back to you, remember?" He removed the small, olive green bag and pulled the contents from within. Two sectional poles held together with bungee cord and a small rolled bundle of nylon fabric.

He rolled the fabric out and began fishing the long poles through holes on the side. The pop tent was up in under a minute as David pressed the four stakes into the ground at the corners.

Gabrielle laughed and shook her head. "You're amazing," she said.

"Actually, Field and Stream is amazing. I'm just the consumer." David replied.

The tent was small, only large enough for three people to sleep side by side. David tossed is knapsack inside and then gestured grandly.

"Your quarters, my lady," he said.

She stepped forward and knelt down, looking inside at the cozy space.

David followed her in as thunder rolled across the sky and the first thick drops of rain spattered on the tent.

They laid out the sleeping rolls and made themselves as comfortable as they could. David pulled out a small lantern and shook it for several seconds, then he pressed a switch and soft yellow light filled the space.

Gabrielle turned back from digging through her small bag and looked up at the lantern.

"If you keep doing things like that," she said. "People will start thinking you're a wizard or something." She pulled out a blank piece of parchment and a quill, seating herself beneath the light, and after a few moments of consideration, she began to write.

David lay back and watched her for a long time, drinking in the sight of her. He smiled contentedly. There was something so young and innocent about the expression on her face whenever she wrote. It seemed to be the only time, when they were awake, that Gabrielle was truly in her element. He could read the myriad of emotions in her face as she wrote, and could deduce when she was writing something that brought her joy, or sorrow.

"You are so beautiful," he said.

She smiled and blushed as she looked at him. "Stop that."

"You are," David smiled. "It never fails to amaze me. Every time I look at you its like I'm seeing you for the first time."

Gabrielle was turning as red as her hair. "Will you stop," she laughed.

"Nope," David grinned.

She leaned over and kissed him. "You're terrible," she teased. She sat back up and resumed writing, but had to pause for a moment as she laughed softly. Sighing she resumed again.

"What are you working on tonight?" David asked, rolling up on his elbow and watching her.

"Another part of when we met." Gabrielle replied. "I'm at the part where you were cooking dinner."

"Oh, Lord," David grinned. He chuckled. "That was an interesting night."

Gabrielle stopped and looked at him.

"I think that was the first time realized that I was falling for you," she mused. "Just watching you bustle around like a madman and enjoying every minute of it." She smiled again. "It was the first time I actually felt happy again." Then she looked at him. "And I thought the apron looked good on you."

David laughed.

"When did you realize it?" Gabrielle asked suddenly.

"What? Me?" David sighed and thought back. "Oh, I don't know." He looked up, listening to the rain patter on the roof. "I think it was the night Derek came in with his phone to tell me that you had gotten arrested. The night you and the girls went into Downtown Chicago?"

"The night of the accident with your Valkyrie?" Gabrielle asked.

David nodded. "I was so mad at you." He said, grinning again. Then his grin dissolved into a thoughtful frown. "No, not mad. I was scared. When Michelle said something had happened, I thought you had been hurt, or worse, and I realized that I was starting to care about you, more than I should." He looked at her. "That's when I first realized that I didn't want to lose you. I didn't care if it went anywhere. I just wanted you around." He winked at her. "This whole marriage thing, for me, is just a major, major bonus."

"We're not married yet, mister" Gabrielle retorted. Her face gave way to that enchanting smile again. "I don't think I like being considered a bonus?"

"I mean," David said seriously. "That I never expected you to agree. I thought that we might remain friends, or that this relationship would burn itself out after a couple of weeks. We were from two completely different worlds - literally. How could it work?" He shrugged. "Then I let almost two years go by, trying to get my life back in order without you. I was so angry all the time. I never stayed home. It felt like being in a coffin, not a house. I was always out looking for Alti. I'd get a lead and it would turn out to be a dead end. One dead end after another. All I could think about was revenge. I wanted her to pay for taking you away from me." He pointed to the scar on his face. "As well as this. It wasn't until Professor MacGhee came by that I got a solid lead on how to get to you. When I found your ring in –" he stopped suddenly. "Well, that was when I realized I had to get back to you somehow."

"Oh?" Gabrielle leaned over to him again, setting her writing implements down. "When you found my ring in what?"

David's face was serious now, and Gabrielle's smile faded as she looked in his eyes.

He swallowed. "When I found that ring in your sarcophagus, I realized that we had seen each other again, after. That ring was something that I hadn't given to you before you were sent back."

There was a slightly haunted expression on his face.

"I stood there, looking into the sarcophagus, and there you were," His voice suddenly caught in his throat. "Well, what was left of you, anyway?"

Gabrielle saw remembered pain on his face and she lay down next to him and stroked his cheek.

"I found that ring lying there, wedged in a corner," David continued. "And my heart about shot out of my chest when I realized that there was a way for me to find you again."

He looked into her eyes and smiled. "There was no way in Hell I was going to throw a chance like that away. I didn't care what I had to do."

"Why didn't you tell me about all this before?" Gabrielle asked him softly.

David shrugged. "Once I got here, I didn't really think about it. I was so whupped after the trip, and then the mess with those bounty hunters the night I found you." He sighed. "And then I think I passed out for a good week."

Gabrielle snuggled up against him and she felt his arm wrap protectively about her shoulders.

"Yeah, you weren't very good company for a while," she said. Her hand stroking his chest. "How did you mange to find me so fast?" she asked suddenly. "Lila told me about when you arrived at her house, but I don't understand how you got to me as fast as you did?"

"I ran my ragged ass off," David replied. "Aphrodite – " he stopped again and Gabrielle looked up at him.

"Aphrodite?" She asked.

"Well," David said, realizing that it was confession time. "Navigating space and time isn't as easy as it looks. I bounced around a bit. After my little encounter with Xena – "

Gabrielle sat up, her eyes wide.

"You met Xena?" she asked. "When did that happen?"

"Two months ago," David replied a wry smile on his lips.

"No, I mean when, when?" Gabrielle asked, shaking her head.

"Oh," David nodded. "Well, it was while you were at the Bards Academy. She was on her way back to check up on you, and I bumped into her just somewhere between here and Athens." He smiled at the memory. "She put the pinch on me, too."

"She didn't," Gabrielle's sudden feeling of loss was replaced by amusement.

"No, she did." David chuckled. "I told her that I had just come from your tomb and wham, she went nuts." He looked at her for a long moment. "She never said anything to you about it?"

Gabrielle shook her head. "She seemed distracted when I met back up with her, but she never said a word. I knew she was keeping something from me, though."

David sighed in relief. "Thank God." Then he looked at her, that mischievous grin spread across his face. "I thought about hanging around, just to see what you looked like back then, but I didn't get the chance."

Gabrielle laughed and slapped his chest. "What for? I was a scrawny little kid when I met up with her."

"Would have been fun to see," David joked. "Fortunately, Aphrodite showed up and got me where and when I needed to be."

"Uh, huh," Gabrielle said, suddenly skeptical. "And what did she want from you in return?"

"Me?" David asked. He smiled nervously. "Nothing. Not a thing, why?"

"Because I don't want anyone messing with my man," Gabrielle said kissing him. "Goddess or otherwise."

David's hand reached up to caress her cheek as he pulled her back to him. "Deal." He said.

They woke up the next morning and got dressed. David threw his vest on and grabbed his boots, unzipped the flap on the tent and crawled out –

Right into the point of a crossbow bolt aimed at his head.

The face behind it was a young, dirty man with long straggly gray/brown hair and a grin that was missing more teeth than it showed.

"Good morning," he said, and the stench of his breath made David wince. "On your feet."

David held up one hand in surrender and crawled the rest of the way out of the tent.

"Oh, sweetheart?" he called. "We have guests."

There was another man with a cross bow a little further back and a third, barrel shaped man in worn brown leather, standing between them, picking his fingernails with a cruel looking knife.

The man saw the gold pins on David's vest, and his eyes lit up.

"You're camping on our land," he said agreeably. It was an obvious lie. "And you didn't ask permission. That'll cost you."

Gabrielle crawled out, clothed in her red skins and boots. David saw the handles of her sais protruding from them and suppressed a smile.

"Okay," she said. "We don't want any trouble. We'll pay. What do you want?"

The man smiled greedily as his associates backed away, standing on either side and behind him.

"For starters, that gold broach," he gestured at one of the pins on David's vest.

David looked down at his chest and saw the pin he was indicating.

"Alright," Gabrielle said. She looked at David. "Give it to him."

"What?" David asked in shock.

"Give him the pin," Gabrielle winked quickly.

"This one?" David asked, he held it up for the thief to verify. The thief nodded.

"Oh, no," David shook his head. "You can't have this one."

"Yes, he can," Gabrielle said.

David looked at her with annoyance. "No, he can't."

"Look," Gabrielle lowered her voice as if trying not to appear rude to the intruders, though they still heard every word. "It's a pin. I'll find you another one."

"Another one?" David protested, tapping it emphatically. "This is a Twenty-fifth Anniversary Star Trek: The Next Generation Commemorative Communicator pin. As far as I know, the Franklin Mint hasn't been established yet? No pin!"

"You can have the pin," Gabrielle looked at the thief again, smiling agreeably.

"No, you can't!" David said loudly.

"David!"

"I suppose you want me to give him the money belt too?" David asked angrily.

"Shhh!" Gabrielle hissed and then rolled her eyes.

"Hey!" The thief asked impatiently. "Give us your money, or we'll take it and leave you here for the wolves to feed on."

"Take the fricking gold!" David shot back. "But no pin!"

"Its gold," Gabrielle said.

"Plated!" David shouted.

"Take off the pin!" Gabrielle said, her green eyes flashing. "And give it to him!"

David looked at the thieves angrily.

"You know, she's got a price on her head!" He said quickly, seemingly at the end of his patience.

"Hey!" Gabrielle's arms dropped and she seethed.

"Yup!" David stepped away from her. "Twenty-five large, hard cash!"

All three men looked at each other in surprise.

David unrolled the parchment and held it up as evidence. "Here it is in writing. You interested?"

"Will you shut up!" Gabrielle shouted.

She shoved him across the clearing.

David fell back and rolled over. He bounced back to his feet and let fly with a stone that he had grabbed in mid slide across the site.

It flew across the small clearing with perfect accuracy, striking one of the crossbow holders in the side of the head. He reeled and the bolt fired, striking the confused leader in the left buttock.

That one cried in pain and shock while the remaining man with the crossbow looked back and forth between the two of them.

"You want some!" David shouted.

At the same time, Gabrielle drew out her sais and leapt forward.

The three men retreated as quickly as they could, the last one trying desperately to remove the intrusive bolt from his posterior.

David stepped up next to Gabrielle, a satisfied smile on his face.

"Now, those were amateurs," Gabrielle grinned. She slid the two weapons back into her boots.

"I think that went rather well?" David commented.

"Well," Gabrielle leaned up next to him. "We found something to use after my hair grows out?"

The two of them laughed out loud as they began to break camp.

They made good time, even though they had no destination in particular. The dampness of the storm gave way to the humidity of a warm spring morning. The sunlight shone in beams through the branches of the trees in pale rays as they fought to dissipate the morning mist.

They stopped before a small, clear river and built a tiny fire. Then, as David went to collect a little more firewood, Gabrielle set about trying to catch some fish for a late morning meal.

When she returned, holding two good-sized fish, she saw David kneeling before the fire, motionless. She paused a short distance away and watched, unwilling to intrude on his private meditations.

Softly, she began to hear his singing voice float over the grass and reeds, low and melodious.

"_A-hay, A-hay, A-ho._

_Four times at your eastern door._

_Where your children will be born._

_Where their future will be formed._

_In that still part of dawn,_

_On the earth I'll kneel upon._

_In respect, my head I'll bow_

_In Ancient Tongue, I'll make a vow._

_A-hay – oh."_

Gabrielle stood and watched him, kneeling there, his hands on his knees, his eyes closed as he sang. She realized that this was some sort of ancient prayer. She simply stood quietly, listening and realized that the noises of the animals around them seemed to be following the rhythm of the song. The ripple of the river melded with the noises of the creatures concealed in the trees and grasses about them. An underlying music accompanied his soft deep voice. The gentle breeze began to blow, cooling the humid air and caressing his long hair.

She smiled as she felt the magic of that moment slip through her like a soft, calming current.

"_A-hay, A-hay, A-ho._

_The southern winds blow to and fro._

_Grandfather show a spirit way,_

_To guide our steps throughout the day._

_In the innocence of life._

_You'll comfort all eternal strife._

_And I will learn to walk along,_

_With gratitude both great and strong_

_A-hay – oh._

_A-hay, A-hay, A-ho._

_Grandmother of the western shore._

_Show us how to understand,_

_The beauty of this sacred land._

_Creator it's to you I plea,_

_At this time it's strength I need._

To walk in balance on this earth, 

_Giving thanks for my rebirth._

_A-hay – oh._

_A-hay, A-hay, A-ho._

_To the North the old ones go._

_Reflecting wisdom deep within._

_Echoes of the circle stand._

_White eagle fly up to the sun,_

_Look upon us all as one._

_In reverent prayer I'll call your name._

_In reverent peace I will remain._

_A-hay – oh."_

David sat still for a few more moments before he opened his eyes and rose to his feet. He turned around and saw Gabrielle standing there, a wondrous expression on her face.

"Maybe you haven't lost your magic after all?" She smiled.

David shrugged. "It seems right to keep up the traditions that I learned before I came here. You never know?"

"What was that?" Gabrielle asked.

"An old Native American prayer," David shrugged. "It's the one prayer that always stuck with me when I was studying. Shilah always said, "if something sticks, you should use it. It was meant for you." He shrugged again. "I guess that one was meant for me?"

"Will you teach it to me?" Gabrielle asked.

David smiled, feeling a touch of embarrassment. "Sure."

He pulled a small flat skillet and several jars of spices from his bag and set about preparing the fish for their meal.

As they ate, David carefully stowed the small plastic jars away again. Gabrielle looked at him thoughtfully.

"What are you going to do when all your little toys are used up?" she asked.

"Cry for about a week," David joked. Then he looked around. "Most of those herbs and spices can be found growing naturally, in the wild. I'll be able to replenish most of them when I have to, the others?" He shrugged. "One of the challenges of being a decent chef is knowing how to use what you have available. We'll just see how good I really am?"

David looked thoughtful for a moment and then his expression sobered.

"Moving on," he said. "We need to come up with a plan to get at our friend Gurkhan off our backs. Any Ideas?"

Gabrielle considered for a moment and then nodded. "I have a rough idea. We can work on it as we go."

"Okay," David set his tin plate down and folded his fingers together expectantly. "Lets hear it?"

Gabrielle pursed her lips, she knew David would not like this idea.

"We give him what he wants."


	2. The Wolf Trap

**The Trap**

David paced back and forth angrily.

"No way in Hell!" He blurted. "There is no way that you're going to walk into his place! You and I both know that you'd be dead the second you showed up!"

"It depends on how I show up there," Gabrielle countered easily.

"It's too risky!" David replied. "I didn't come two millennia back into the past just to deliver you into the Lion's Den! Forget it!"

"David," Gabrielle said calmly. "There's only one way we're going to be able to live our lives the way we want. Now, I don't like this any more than you do, but I can't think of anything else. Can you?"

"Gabrielle," David said, kneeling in front of her. "No one even knows what this guy looks like. How are we going to find him? We can't just get in and start wiping out everyone in the place! Hell, for all we know, Gurkhan could be a woman – " He stopped as if someone had just struck him.

"David?" Gabrielle asked.

A smile began to creep slowly across David's face, and he began to chuckle.

"Oh, man," He said, rising again and pacing back and forth. "Oh, that's freaking hysterical!"

"What is?" Gabrielle asked. "What are you talking about?"

David knelt back down again.

"Remember when you and Alti squared off over the Chronos Stone?" he asked.

Gabrielle nodded.

"Ares showed up, and told me to stay out of the whole affair," David was grinning from ear to ear now. "He told me that if you had died there, at least you would have died among friends and people that cared about you."

"Okay?" Gabrielle asked.

David's mind drifted back.

"Ares was bitching up a storm and he said something that didn't mean anything to me at the time."

Gabrielle waited, sitting on the edge of her seat.

"Ares said, 'if she survives, she goes back and dies at the hands of Gurkhan's bounty hunters. You know, the guy who likes to pose as a guard in his own palace?'" David's eyebrows rose. "A slip of the tongue, perhaps?"

"I don't know. Ares isn't known for making mistakes like that." Gabrielle replied, mulling it over. "Still, it definitely narrows our list of suspects down." Then she looked up from her reflections and there was hope in her eyes.

"Sara!" She said excitedly. "She was Gurkhan's first wife before Xena and I broke in and brought her home. If anyone had seen Gurkhan, she would have!"

"You think so?" David asked dubiously. "How paranoid was this guy? He might have had a bevy of beauties, simply to have a little fun, or he could have been into something more voyeuristic, we really don't know."

"Unless Sara mentions something about him playing palace guard," Gabrielle finished, preferring not to dwell on David's last theory. "At the very least, she knows the layout of the place?"

"Just one tiny wrinkle in the plan," David said, holding his thumb and forefinger apart.

"In order to talk to your niece, you need to go back into town. Right now, that place is buzzing with bounty hunters. The second you pass the gates, it'll turn into a free-for-all." He fixed her with a dark, thoughtful stare. "Innocent people could get caught in the crossfire? Your sister and niece could get caught in the crossfire?"

Gabrielle felt a knot of dread. She also heard Jesse's voice from her past. Something about David that she might grow to dislike, even though she could respected it.

"_He'll never steer you wrong, and he'll never lie to you. Even when you want him to."_

This was one of those times when David's brutal honesty in assessing a situation really bothered Gabrielle. At the same time, it forced her to think about what she might be risking in this endeavor. It wasn't just going to be their lives on the line anymore. As soon as she passed into that village, anyone she came in contact with would be a potential target.

"So," she asked him. "How do we minimize the risk?" She hoped he would have an answer.

David shrugged. "I don't know, yet," he said. "We'll figure it out on the way, alright?" He sighed, still not pleased with the idea. "Maybe there's a way to sneak you in without drawing too much attention?" he shrugged. "We'll take a closer look when we get there."

They came through the forest on an indirect course towards the village. When they finally saw the small, walled cluster of buildings, they were shuttered and dark for the night. Shadowy shapes could be seen moving along the top of the wall as sentries walked their assigned routes and the occasional torch could be seen moving through the silent streets.

"Everything looks quiet," Gabrielle said, trying to keep a positive outlook.

"Looks, yes," David said with grim resignation. He handed the parchment to her. "Take this, they may have a problem if I've got it."

"Where are you going?" Gabrielle asked.

"I'm going in there and find a nice, dark, quiet spot to watch Lila's house," David said. "You can go on in and get whatever information you need. If anyone comes knocking on her door, I'll be there to back you up."

Gabrielle looked at him for a moment. "You're expecting it to be a trap," she smiled.

David nodded, licking his lips. "Thing is, some of the guards know me from when I first arrived. They know I ran out to find you, and then came back with you. That might cause a problem?"

"If they know you're with me, then they'll come after you in order to get to me," Gabrielle agreed.

"Bingo," David nodded. "Either way, you might be able to get in without being seen, especially if a bunch of morons are chasing after me."

Gabrielle thought about that for a while. "I don't like the idea of you walking in there like that."

"Give me another option?" David suggested.

Gabrielle thought for a moment as she watched the sleeping village.

"See if you can find Palos," she finally suggested. "His family and my family have been friends for years. The last I heard, Palos was Captain of the Guard. If anyone could get you in without much fuss, it would be him."

"Do you trust him?" David asked.

"Yes," Gabrielle replied easily. "I don't think he would betray us, or at least me?" She shrugged.

David checked his bow and his quiver of arrows. Then he looked down at the bowie knife hanging at his hip.  
"At some point," he said. "I'm going to need to upgrade to a sword."

"I'm sure we can find something for you later," Gabrielle smiled.

David adjusted his knapsack and sighed.

"Alright," he said. "I'm off. If everything goes smoothly, we'll meet here before sunrise, alright?"

She kissed him. "I'll see you then. Good luck."

David strode cautiously down towards the main gates, a strange sense of deja vu coming over him. At least this time, he wasn't bone weary. He paused at the edge of the light from the two torches set out about ten feet from the gate.

"I need to speak with Palos!" He called to the shape standing at the top of the wall.

"State your business!" The shadow replied in a clear voice.

"I can only discuss that with the Captain!" David replied. Something was squirming within his belly. His eyes checked both sides and behind him, fearing that an army would suddenly appear and run him down.

A second figure joined the first and they had a quick conversation, then the second figure vanished.

David reached back and pulled the hood over his head, further obscuring his features.

"Come into the light!" The voice ordered.

David stepped forward, presenting the countenance of a man hooded and cloaked.

The gate opened and a man stepped out, walking towards him with confident strides. He was dressed in the armor of the village guard and his hand rested on the hilt of a short sword.

"I am Palos," he said. "Who are you?"

David stepped forward and bowed his head.

"I am David," he said quietly. "We have a mutual acquaintance. Gabrielle?"

At this, the Captain's eyebrows rose slightly.

"Do we?" he asked. "Over the past few weeks, many people have claimed to know Gabrielle, and all of them have had less than honorable intentions. What makes you any different?"

"She's my fiancée?" David offered.

Again, the Captain fixed him with a steely gaze. His fingers twitched on the hilt of his sword.

"If that is the case, then perhaps you can tell me something of my friend that no one but her betrothed would know?" He tightened the grip on his sword.

David thought for a moment and a smile touched his face.

"You mean, something besides the fact that she was born with six toes on one foot?"

Palos stared at him for a moment, and then a grin began to spread across his face as well. He chuckled softly. "No, I think that will do. Only my family and hers knew of that little quirk. What can I do for you?"

"I need to slip into town and keep watch over Lila's home tonight," David said quickly. "Gabrielle is nearby, but she needs to speak with her sister about a matter of extreme urgency."

"May I know the subject?" Palos asked.

"It would be safer for you if you didn't," David replied.

Palos seemed to consider that for a moment, and then he nodded.

"Very well." He put a hand on David's shoulder and led him off to the side away from the gate.

"There is a secret entrance along this wall," he said. "I will take you to it. You can enter the village from there and move about with relative freedom." His head dipped closer.

"I must warn you," he continued. "There are bounty hunters from half a dozen provinces camped out at the inn tonight, and not many of them are sleeping, if you understand me?"

"I do," David said.

Palos nodded.

"Keep to the shadows and back alleys." Palos led him through a small doorway built to look like the stones of the outer wall. They paused once they were within the village.

"There is a stable across the square from Lila's home. It's not being used right now. You will have a good vantage from there, and no one will see you, dressed as you are." He said. "I have several men that I can trust on watch tonight, where can I place them so that she can enter without drawing attention?"

A silent alarm went off at that question. He looked into the Captain's eyes, trying to read his intentions. There was nothing that he could see; yet he felt something might be wrong.

"I honestly don't know how or when she'll make her attempt," he said.

"Very well," Palos replied, not seeming to worry about it. "You know the way. I must return through the main gate, so as not to throw suspicion on our little walk."

David nodded. "Thanks."

Palos gave a nod and vanished back through the small opening. It slid silently closed with a click.

He moved through the darkened streets like an extension of the shadows, eventually coming to a spot where he could spy the stable the captain had mentioned. Instantly, the entire situation rubbed him the wrong way.

"One way in, one way out," he mused. "Of course, if the good Captain is on the level, there shouldn't be a problem. However-?"

He scanned the surrounding area for a better vantage and found it, atop the stable but beneath the walkway for the outer wall. The only question was getting up there without being seen.

Carefully, he made his way to the entrance of the stable and vanished within.

Once inside he looked about at the roof and spied several older, rotten boards. He stood up on one of the stalls and pulled with all his strength. First one, and then a second board broke off, giving him a small opening that, if unencumbered, he could squeeze through.

He hid his knapsack in a pile of hay and then moved to a vantage point across from Lila's front door. There, he set up his overcoat, stuffing it with hay to make it appear to be the shape of a person. Then he positioned it carefully, and keeping his hood pulled down, he pulled himself up onto the roof, moving with cautious steps towards the furthest spot near a small niche beside a set of descending stairs. From there, he had a good view of the square and the home of Gabrielle's younger, middle aged sister.

He notched an arrow to the string, and placed five more in the holder at the front of his bow, and then he settled down to wait.

The minutes crawled by like hours as he listened to the night sounds of the village. He spied a small cat, meandering about the square, searching for mice. The feline stopped suddenly and then scampered away. David looked in that direction and caught the subtle shift in the shadows.

Another figure stood, watching the house and the stable.

Could he have been seen? David had been careful, but he couldn't be certain. His eyes roamed about the square and eventually he was able to pick out four more men hiding in various places, all watching Lila's home.

"I got a bad feeling about this," he sighed. He silently hoped that Gabrielle would not make it into the village. If she did and these men saw her, the entire situation could erupt in bloodshed.

David adjusted his stance, kneeling down with his right leg up to stabilize him. He held the bow and sighted the figure directly across from him.

"At least I know one son of a bitch that won't get paid if this goes south," he thought grimly.

Nothing happened for a long time, and then a soft birdcall echoed in the square. David heard it, as did the half dozen men concealed in the shadows. They all sank into concealment. The square was as still as a graveyard.

Another shadow paused at the entrance arch to the square, and then it moved, flitting like a ghost from building to building until it reached the desired door. It vanished inside without releasing so much as a ray of light into the square.

"Ah, nuts," David thought desperately. "She made it."

He adjusted himself slightly and raised his bow. He was just about to draw back on the string when he heard soft voices below him.

"He's not here!" One of them hissed. "He said the man would be here!"

"Well, apparently, the good captain is mistaken," A second voice replied. "He can't be far. He would wish to stay in sight of the house. Keep looking while I go have a word with our friend Palos."

David saw another darkly clad figure emerge from the stable beneath him and make off towards the main gate. He motioned for the rest of his men to keep vigil and vanished.

A dark fire kindled within David's heart. He could hear the second man rummaging about within.

David silently crept to the edge of his little hole and looked below. He saw a figure pilfering his knapsack, pulling out various objects and studying them. David drew back on his bow. The fiberglass tensed without so much as a creak.

The line thumped quietly and the arrow pierced the man's throat. He fell, dead, without a sound.

David quickly moved back to his vantage point and watched.

A short time later, the ringleader of the bounty hunters returned with Palos. The two were in the middle of a harsh, but quiet argument.

"Valcis," Palos hissed. "This is where I told him to go! If he's smarter than I thought, then we'll have to flush him out!"

"Valcis," David thought. It was the one name that the two of them had heard. A bounty hunter of great repute and vicious temperament. When the contract said 'dead or alive' his prisoners usually ended up being delivered four days cold.

There was a shuffle and then Valcis hissed.

"Sedon seems to have concealed himself elsewhere."

There was no way he could have missed the body on the floor! David knew it! The poor wretch had fallen out in the open!

"If anything," Valcis continued. "He may have moved to another location, or simply fled. I think it's time to claim my prize. If you would be so kind, Captain?"

Palos seemed hesitant. "I know your reputation," he said. "I have your word that she will not be harmed?"

There was the sound of a moneybag being exchanged.

"Of course," Valcis replied easily. "As long as she comes quietly, I can guarantee her safety. If she puts up a struggle, then I cannot say she will not be hurt, but you have my word that she will not be killed."

"Yeah, right," David thought. "Lying bastard."

He watched as the men tensed, waiting for the signal.

Palos stepped quietly towards Lila's door. The best bait in the world was the face of a friend.

Palos hesitated, looking back before he raised his hand to knock on the door.

"No way in Hell you're gonna get her," David thought. He bent his bow and sighted.

As Palos's hand descended against the hard wood, David released. The arrow punched through the deceptive guard's skull, pinning his quivering body to it. It slowly swung open. There was a scream of terror, and shadows moved from within the house.

"Now!" Valcis shouted, and his men jumped from concealment and charged the house.

David drew back and fired again and again. Three more of the men went down with fatal wounds.

The man standing around the corner from Lila's house staggered next and fell, an arrow piercing his chest.

"Where is he?" One of the bounty hunters cried, searching in vain for the hidden archer. He fell as another arrow came from the darkness and punctured his left eye.

"Get inside and get the girl!" Valcis's voice bellowed.

Another man made for the door and fell with an arrow in his back.

Then Gabrielle came charging out, sais in her hand. She met the first remaining bounty hunter at full charge, leaping into the air as she stabbed downward. The man spun about, blood pumping from the open wound in his throat and he collapsed.

David fired his last arrow and then leapt from concealment, making sure to have enough distance from the edge of the stable and the concealed Valcis. He felt the wind of a sharp blade just miss his back as he charged to her side. His knife writhed like a snake, striking this way and that.

"Get them out of here!" he shouted to her as he tackled another man and ran the thick blade through his gullet.

Men seemed to grow from the shadows, each of them carrying a weapon of some sort.

"There's too many!" Gabrielle shouted in desperation.

They stepped back towards the house, fighting off the flurry of attackers.

Suddenly, another shadow leapt into the fray. Valcis landed between the two of them and wheeled about, a wicked sword in his left hand and a dagger in the other.

He spun about and struck out at Gabrielle. She backed smoothly away, parrying the attacks.

"Oh no you don't!" David shouted. He dispatched another bounty hunter and charged.

Valcis slid around and spun. The point of his dagger found David's side. He felt it enter and the world went red with his rage. He struck out at anything that moved. Valcis released his hold on the weapon and backed away. Then Gabrielle was upon him, and he fell as her sais crossed over his throat.

With the death of their leader, the remaining bounty hunters retreated quickly rather than continue the fight. The fire in the eyes of the defenders was too fierce to be taken lightly, and the superior numbers seemed not to avail them as it should have.

David chased after the straggler a few steps, bellowing at the top of his lungs, then he stopped and leaned heavily against a large shipping barrel.

Gabrielle cleaned the blood from her sais and slid them back into her boots, and then she looked up at David, leaning against the barrel, apparently worn out.

"Hey," she said. "I think we got them."

David only nodded, feeling his strength ebb from him like the spreading stain on his pull over sweatshirt. The black fabric shone wetly in the torchlight. His fingers went numb and the heavy knife fell to the sandy earth.

"David?" Gabrielle asked, suddenly concerned. He looked up at her and smiled.

"Never saw that one in the dojo," he said. He turned to face her and she saw the hilt of the dagger in his torso. David took one step and his leg slid out from under him as he collapsed to the ground.

"David!" Gabrielle screamed in panic. She ran to his side and turned him over.

David looked up at her and shook his head in disbelief. "Damn, that Valcis was fast." He tried to get back to his feet, but the shock had rendered his body uncooperative.

"I'm alright," he said. "I don't think he hit anything vital. I hope he didn't. Man, who said that the future was set should be shot." He grimaced, as the pain suddenly became palpable fire in his belly.

"No," Gabrielle said fiercely. "Not again!"

David blinked, feeling the pain grow within him. "It's alright," he said. "As long as it hurts, I know I'm alive. Right now, it hurts like hell. Just get me inside."

"Lila!" Gabrielle cried desperately. Gabrielle's sister ran over to her and the two women half lifted half-dragged David towards the house. They ignored Palos's body hanging on the door and got David onto the small bed.

He grunted in agony as they laid him down.

Behind them, David saw a third woman, about his age, with long blonde hair and soft blue eyes, staring down at him in wonder.

"Sara," Lila ordered. "Close the door and then fetch hot water!"

The other woman immediately moved to comply.

David laughed out loud, though the act caused fresh waves of pain in his belly.

"Every time someone gets hurt or gives birth," he croaked. "Someone shouts for hot water."

Gabrielle smiled through her tears. "Just be still." She pleaded.

David reached up and touched her cheek with a bloody hand. "Relax." He said calmly. "Just relax."

Lila looked down at the blade. "I'm going to have to remove it now," she said. "Are you ready?"

David shook his head. "Give me a moment."

Sara returned with a steaming kettle and a handful of clean cloth.

He smiled at Gabrielle reassuringly. Then he forced his breathing to slow and his muscles to relax. "I need to relax everything, or you'll do more damage when you yank it." His eyes glassed over, though it was not from death. His lips moved quietly.

"_A-hay, A-hay, A-ho._

_Four times at your eastern door._

_Where your children will be born._

_Where their future will be formed._

_In that still part of dawn,_

_On the earth I'll kneel upon._

_In respect, my head I'll bow_

_In Ancient Tongue, I'll make a vow._

_A-hay – oh."_

Gabrielle watched as his whole body seemed to slow down. His eyes closed and he continued. She leaned next to him and let her own voice mingle with his as he completed the song.

David's eyes opened again and he stared at Gabrielle with his entire soul, and then he nodded his head once.

Gabrielle looked at her sister.

"Okay."

Lila grasped the dagger, and much to the amazement of all three women, it slid free with barely any resistance.

David's lips continued in the song, oblivious to the action. He looked into Gabrielle's eyes, smiled and fell unconscious.

Lila looked at the unconscious man for a moment, and then back at the dagger, bathed in blood.

"You never said he was a Shaman," Lila said. She took the clean cloth and began dressing David's wound.

David felt his body falling from him like an old coat. His consciousness hovered over the bed, watching as the women worked feverishly to stem the bleeding and close his wound.

"They'll fix it," he though confidently. "In the mean time."

The world faded into a white glow and then he found himself in a dark passage filled with a soft wind and endless fluttering rags like cobwebs.

"Well, this is interesting," he said. He began moving forward through the strange dream. Shadows flickered in and out of his conscious view as if frightened to approach him.

"I was hoping to be riding on Rosie right about now," David said aloud. "Guess not, huh?"

"Sorry," A voice said behind him. "Maybe next time."

David turned and smiled when he recognized the source of the voice.

"Xena," he greeted her. "Been a while?" Then he held up his hands in surrender. "No pinch this time, okay?"

The warrior smiled and extended her hand in welcome. David clasped her forearm.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

Xena smiled. "Someone wants to see you." She said. "And I wanted to thank you."

"Thank me?" David asked. "What for?"

Xena looked serious. "For giving Gabrielle back that light she lost. It was something I was never able to do."

"She misses you," David said. "You haven't spoken to her since she got back?"

"I know," Xena said regretfully. "But I think she had other things to worry about. Besides. It would be better if she concentrated on you for a while. I'll always be with her, and in her heart, Gabrielle knows that."

David nodded. "I still think you should visit her." He smiled. "Trust me, I'm not the jealous type."

"I know," Xena smiled. "In the meantime." They stopped before the entrance to a dark foreboding cave. "Someone else needs to speak with you."

David looked at the opening with a feeling of consternation.

"I'm gonna have a real problem if Darth Vader comes after me when I go in there," he said. Xena frowned, not understanding the reference.

David smiled. "Nevermind." He stepped toward the opening, pausing just before the entrance. "Xena?" he asked. "Go to her. I think she needs you right now. If anything, to reassure her, okay?"

Xena smiled again and nodded. "I'll see what I can do. Now get going."

David nodded and vanished into the shadows.

Gabrielle sat next to David, her head on the bed next to his, her hand on his chest, feeling his heartbeat, slow and steady. The tears still stung her eyes, and fear clutched ever tighter about her heart. As she lay there, she felt another hand settle atop hers and she lifted her tear streaked face.

"Xena?" she gasped.

"Hello, Gabrielle," Xena smiled. "How are you doing?"

Gabrielle looked down at David. "Oh, just great," she said bitterly.

"Hey," Xena comforted her. "It's going to be alright."

"I can't lose him, Xena," Gabrielle said desperately. "I can't."

"Shhh," Xena said softly.

"I love him," Gabrielle choked. "It would be like losing you all over again, only this time – " Then she looked up at her friend with fire in her eyes.

"Why does he keep doing this?" She asked vehemently. "Every single time I end up in trouble, he ends up getting in the middle of it, and I walk away unhurt while he – " Her voice broke again.

"Because he loves you, Gabrielle," Xena said. "As much, if not more than I do. He's doing all the things I would have done if I were still here. Don't be angry with him about that."

"I know," Gabrielle replied. "I know. It just hurts so much to see this all over again."

Xena smiled. "And when he recovers, if something else happens, he'll be in the middle of it again. And again, and again, until he's too old to stand."

Gabrielle smiled at the image of an old, infirm David standing up to a warlord that had just stormed into their home, as fiery as he was now. Then her face sobered.

"I can't keep doing this to him, Xena," she said. "Not like this."

"Gabrielle?" Xena looked at her seriously. "I know that look. Don't do anything reckless."

Gabrielle looked down at David's face. "What, me?" she said.

Xena's eyebrow rose in a knowing look.

"This isn't his fight, Xena," Gabrielle looked back up at her friend again. "It never was. I have to end this."

"Gabrielle," Xena squeezed her hand. "Think about what you're saying. There's no way for you to do it and survive if you go by yourself. You know that. How do you think he'll feel then?"

Gabrielle stroked his cheek lovingly.

"I'd rather have him alive and hating me, then dead and loving me," she said finally.

David moved through the inky blackness, his anxiety growing in spite of having gone through countless dream walks in his life.

"You have nothing to fear," a soft, feminine voice beckoned. "Come forward."

David continued and found himself in a vast circular chamber. As he stepped within, he saw several torches in sconces on the wall. Two more passages branched off to on either side of the cave, and against the back wall, between the two openings was a massive stone seat. Large, thin black dogs sat or lay on either side of the throne, looking at him with hungry red eyes. Smoke issued from their mouths and nostrils and they growled as he entered.

David paused, and then continued forward. Suddenly, the figure of a woman, clothed in black swirling robes appeared on the dais. She held a flickering torch in each hand and her red eyes stared down at him.

"Greetings, my son," she said kindly.

David dropped to one knee and bowed his head, realizing whom he stood before.

"I kneel before the Guardian of the Crossroads, the source of my faith, my Goddess." He stammered.

She laughed gently.

"We have no need for ceremony, you and I," she said knowingly. "In our other talks, you have sometimes been far less formal, shall we say?"

David kept his head bowed, not daring to look at her directly.

"I admit," he said. "Sometimes, I didn't think you were listening. And other times, I was pretty angry with you."

"Your wife," the woman replied understandingly. "Do you see now, why she had to make the journey? So you could be unburdened for this one?"

"And what of this journey?" David asked with a touch more irreverence. "Is Gabrielle fated to suffer in the same way I did, so I can continue another journey? Forgive me, my Goddess, but I don't know how much more of this I can deal with?"

She laughed that delicious laugh again. "That is one of the things I love about you, David. You will speak your mind without fear or favor, no matter who is before you. Look at me."

Reluctantly, David lifted his eyes and beheld her in her glory. The torches shone with pale golden light and her glowing red eyes stared down at him lovingly.

"Even in your greatest despair," she said to him. "You never lost faith in me, even if you lost a portion of your love for me. This I can accept, owing to what you have endured. And even after enduring, you never wavered in your convictions. Your faith remained strong in me. You have awakened me, now, at a time when my own grandchildren have all but forgotten me. For that, I thank you. And I return that which was sacrificed. But I also must offer you a choice. You must choose your path.

The one on your left will return you to life, to your precious Gabrielle, and to the future you hope to achieve. The passage to the right grants you a new beginning, from birth, and a chance to become all that you feel you might have lost. My gift shall be yours regardless of your choice."

"I can return to Gabrielle," David said. "Or I can be reborn into another life."

"Never remembering this one and the pains you have been made to suffer." She finished.

"And Gabrielle?" David asked. "What of her?"

"Should you choose a new life, you will not even remember her," The Goddess said evenly. "She will have passed from existence long before you are reborn."

David rose to his feet and stared up at this powerful figure with his characteristic mix of respect, awe, and a touch of arrogance. He smiled wryly.

"You know," he said. "I kind of like seeing all the ancient monuments when they were as good as new." He bowed again. "Besides, My Lady," he continued. "I love her."

"Then go," the Dark Goddess said softly. "Know that I shall always be with you, but the next time we meet, it shall be to receive my Dark Kiss."

David bowed his head again. "I look forward to it," he said, smiling. Then he passed through the arch.

David's eyes snapped open and a rush of air filled his lungs with painful emphasis.

Sara, who was taking her turn to watch, jumped to her feet in fright.

"Whoa," David whispered. "What a rush." His eyes blinked, and he suddenly realized that he could see the auras of energy around the two women, now staring at him utterly perplexed.

David looked about. The entire scene was wreathed in the energy of the universe.

"That which was sacrificed," David breathed. He looked about the room. "Gabrielle?" he called wearily.

"Lay still," Lila said, stepping to his side. "You are still very weak, and your wound has not closed completely."

"Where is she?" David asked.

The two women exchanged a concerned look.

Sara finally broke the silence. "She's gone. She went to-" She stopped at a hiss from her mother.

"She went after him, didn't she?' David asked knowingly. "She went after Gurkhan?"

"Two days ago," Lila finally admitted.

"Two days!" David exclaimed. He struggled to sit and swing his legs off the bed, ignoring the fire that shot through his body. "Dammit! What the Hell was she thinking?"

"David!" Lila protested. "You need rest!"

"I'll rest on the ship!" David replied. "Where's my gear?"

"David," Sara said quickly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Gabrielle was most insistent. You need to stay here."

"The hell with that!" David said angrily. He got his feet underneath him and stood with one hand on the wall. Once his feet were under him, he felt better. The strength was returning to his limbs, albeit slowly.

"Please, David," Lila said. "You're not healed!"

"Lila," David growled. "You've done a lot for us, and I'm grateful. But you can either help me, or get the Hell out of my way."

Lila stepped back, realizing that she could not stop him, even if she wanted to.

David looked at Sara.

"I need something from you," he said. "I need the layout of Gurkhan's palace. You willing to help?"

Sara stared at him for a moment, then she nodded. "Yes."

"Good." He looked about the room. "Where's my gear?"

The pain in his belly meant that he would have to travel light. Lighter than he had since arriving. A quiver of his reclaimed arrows, his bow, knife and the bare necessities, food and water." He slung the small bag over his shoulder and looked about the room.

"Right," he said. "What's the fastest way to the harbor?"

Sara handed him a rolled parchment and gave him directions. He thanked them both and moved stiffly towards the door.

"David," Lila said behind him. "Before you go. Gabrielle wanted you to have something."

David turned and saw Lila standing before him, a sword in her outstretched hands. It was oriental in origin, sheathed in a fine, red wooden scabbard.

"It came from Japa," Lila explained. "Gabrielle brought it back with her after Xena died."

David slung the weapon over his shoulder, next to his quiver of arrows and nodded.

"We'll be back," he said. "Both of us."

He stepped out of the house and looked towards the gate of the village.

"If I gotta turn his palace into a smoking sheet of glass," he finished with a determined growl.


	3. Into the Fire

**Into The Fire**

The ship rocked gently as the salty ocean breeze pushed it across the vast expanse of blue.

David had spent the days aboard ship, slowly exercising the mobility back into his limbs and tending to his injury. The Captain of the ship had graciously granted him the use of his cabin, especially after he saw the pained expression on the David's face when he had paid for the passage to Mogador. He looked down at the gold and silver broach and rubbed it affectionately.

The Captain stood at the wheel now, watching as the coast of Northern Africa became visible in the hazy distance. He glanced down at his passenger, standing in the center of the deck, his hands clasped as if in prayer. Slowly he began to move, and the Captain realized that this man had been trained in the martial skills. It was a good thing that he had decided to let this man complete the passage, rather than attempt to throw him overboard. His crew was strong, and they may have succeeded, but at what price?

"Land ho!" The lookout called from atop the mast.

David ceased his kata and stepped up to the rail, looking out over the vast expanse and seeing the shoreline in the distance.

"We should be there by nightfall, sir," The captain offered.

David looked back at him, his long brown hair flowing in the breeze. He merely nodded once, and then resumed his exercises.

As his passenger stretched out his hand towards the land, the wind seemed to pick up suddenly, and they all felt the ship lurch forward, as if sprinting the last distance.

The Captain looked again at his mysterious passenger. Had he just created the wind that drove them? "Yes," he nodded, adjusting the wheel a few degrees. "It was a good thing that we did not try to kill this man."

Mogador was a pale white collection of stone buildings, perched atop a flat cliff overlooking the sea. David studied it carefully as the ship slid in towards the harbor before sunset. He retired to the cabin suddenly to prepare for his departure. When he emerged again, he was dressed as the crew had first seen him, His long black coat flapping in the breeze. The oriental sword was now held in place within a sewn pocket that stretched down the back. The quiver of arrows rattled gently in the breeze, and the green and black bow soaked in the sunlight without as much as a reflection of color.

His passenger's eyes were hidden behind two smooth red lenses, and his gloved hand thrummed impatiently on the rail.

The sail was stowed and the ship slid into berth. Two crewmen lowered the gangplank and David stepped up onto it, looking back at the captain. He waved.

"Thank you, Captain," he said. "Good luck to you."

The captain stared at those mirror red lenses and shuddered. He waved back. Once his passenger was gone, he and the majority of his crew breathed a collective sigh of relief.

David pushed his way through the multitudes of people as he made his way up the winding path towards the city proper. Most people – the more observant ones at least – stepped out of his way as he stalked forward. They feared to look into his eyes, thinking that the sunglasses he wore were actually magical devices that might steal their souls.

In his mind, he went through the memorized floor plan of Gurkhan's palace one more time, assuring himself that he did have it down. He paused outside the main gate and drew out the parchment, refreshing his memory, and then let the parchment fall into a nearby cooking fire. The proprietor opened his mouth to say something, saw the glassy eyes and thought better of it. He let the parchment burn.

The guard at the gate gave him no trouble, though he did look at David with suspicion.

Once inside the smooth stone walls and streets, David made his way quickly towards the palace. It was at the far end of the city, overlooking the ocean hundreds of feet below.

He passed through the slave market and saw the auctioneer taking bids on a small, petite woman with stringy dark hair and dull eyes.

A pair of voices caught his attention and he turned.

"I delivered her, as the contract stated," it said somewhat peevishly. "I want the payment!"

David pushed his way through the crowd of prospective bidders and spied a young, rather anxious looking man standing near a corner. He wore a dark, sleeveless jerkin over his medium frame, and a pair of dark leather pants. A sword hung at his side and gauntlets covered his arms. A second figure was concealed behind a pillar.

David studied the man for a moment. He had close cropped dark hair and an athletic build. He was shorter than David by a good half foot, and his lean arms were crossed over his chest. His chiseled features wore an anxious expression.

"Excuse me," David said. When the young man turned and saw the red lenses, his mouth dropped open for an instant before David's hand had wrapped about his throat and pinned him against the wall.

David turned his glass covered eyes to the man in the corner. A short, portly man in fine silk robes. In his hand he held the copy of the contract that David had taken from the errant Tindis, back near Poditea. He looked back at the man pinned against the wall.

"That contract and that bounty are mine," he snarled.

The man was clawing at David's hand, trying to force air into his lungs. His eyes spoke in desperate volumes, and David realized something in that instant. This man was not a bounty hunter. He was scared almost out of his wits.

"The bounty was claimed by him," the man said. David opened his vest with his free hand, exposing the fresh knife wound.

"That's because he took it from me," he growled. "The woman he brought was a red haired young Greek woman, yes?"

The man nodded.

"She used to be blonde, I bet," David continued.

Again the man nodded.

"Where is my merchandise?" he asked the man.

The man stood sweating for a moment. "She is to be taken to the palace at the conclusion of the auction." He finally stammered.

"By you?" David asked with a canine grin.

"Yes," the man replied.

"No," David said. "I turn my property in, in person, or not at all. Bring her to me."

The kid in his grasp was really struggling now. Strangled grunting noises issued from his throat.

"That is not the way it is done," the man began. David fixed him with a glassy stare.

"And working through intermediaries is not how I do business," he said. "Now, you can get my property, or I can. It all depends on whether you like the walls white," he grinned. "Or red."

The man looked at David, and decided that it would not be worth the fight, especially if his own blood might be the first new coat of paint on the walls.

"Come with me," he said. He turned away.

David looked back at the man still pinned against the wall.

"What's your name, kid?" he asked.

"Vrgl," the man croaked. "Virgil."

"Well, Virg," David hissed. "Stay here or I'll use you as a paint brush!" He let the man fall to the floor.

Virgil sat there, feeling blessed air flow into his lungs and rubbing his throat. "Wait," he croaked, but David was gone.

"There she is," the man said.

Gabrielle looked up at the entrance, and her eyes went wide in shock as David stepped through the arch, bow in his hand, his eyes hidden behind those demonic red lenses.

"Give her to me," David ordered.

One of the guards in the room reached for his sword, but David was faster with the bow. It was sighted and bent in a moment.

"Ah, ah," he cautioned. "Get your hands off. Fingers off it, hero!"

The guard stared darkly at him for a moment and slowly released the hilt of his sword.

"No," Gabrielle groaned.

David reached down and grasped the chain that was about Gabrielle's neck. He pulled her roughly to her feet.

"Thought you could get away, did you?" he asked in a menacing voice that Gabrielle believed was only half an act.

David looked at the proprietor. "Take me to Gurkhan," he said gruffly.

"That is not permitted." The man said flatly, and instantly regretted his tone.

"Not permitted?" David repeated. He shrugged. "Okay, fine, I'll just take the pretty here, and set her on a ship to wherever she wants to go. I doubt if anyone else will find her any time soon."

"You would not leave the city alive," the man said quietly.

"If I had a nickel for every time I heard that line," David mused. He grinned at the man.

"Here's the way I do business, bud," he said. "Cash on delivery. No money?" He ran his hand along Gabrielle's shoulder. "No honey."

The man looked at the guard, who subtly shook his head.

The portly man turned back to David. "I know that my lord would be most distressed at losing his prize when it is so close to him. I will see what his wishes are. You will wait here."

"I'll wait out in the market," David countered. "More people, less chance of an ambush."

David followed Gabrielle, as if she really were her prisoner. Judging by the look in her eyes, it was better that way.

They found a secluded spot in the market and Gabrielle turned on him angrily.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded in a hiss.

"Me?" David's eyebrows rose. "What in the hell are you doing here? We were going to do this together, remember?"

"That was before Valcis stuck a dagger in you!" Gabrielle shot back, her eyes looking about the market place. It was definitely not the safest place for them to have this discussion, and they both knew it.

There was the soft sing of steel, and David felt a point in his back.

"Okay, mister," a voice said behind him bravely. "I don't know who you are, but let her go right now."

David's head turned and he saw Virgil standing there, sword at his back. He had a desperate look in his eyes.

"Virgil," Gabrielle said urgently. "Wait."

David spun quickly, pinning the blade against the wall, and once again had the young man pinned against the stones.

"I'll say this much," he said angrily. "You got balls that clank."

"David!" Gabrielle hissed, looking about them. "Stop it!"

"You know this guy?" David asked.

"This is Virgil," Gabrielle said quickly. "Joxer's son. He was helping me."  
David looked at Virgil for a moment, and released him. For the second time, Virgil massaged his sore neck.

"Virgil," Gabrielle continued. "This is David. The man I told you about."

"I thought you said he was an understanding kind of guy?" Virgil commented. "Everything was working perfectly until he showed up."

"Perfectly?" David said. "You drop her into the hornets nest and then sit outside bitching about payment while they take her in and –"he drew his hand across his throat. "That's perfect? Are you dead from the neck up?"

"What did you have in mind?" Virgil asked angrily.

"A face to face exchange with the man himself." David said in an irritated tone. "Rule number one: Don't trust anyone."

He looked at Gabrielle and slid his glasses off. "Gurkhan wants you, and I, as a bounty hunter, want money. Solution: a face to face exchange or we leave."

"And if he refuses?" Virgil asked, picking up his sword.

"Plan B," David countered.

"And that is?" Gabrielle asked angrily.

"We get the hell out of here and think of something else." David replied. He looked back at Gabrielle. "Either way, sweetie," he said, sliding his glasses back on as he spied the portly man approaching them. "When this is over, you and I need to have a little chat."

Gabrielle groaned. She remembered the last little "chat" outside a modern day police station. Fortunately, that had been greatly abbreviated. Somehow, she didn't think she would be so fortunate a second time.

The market manager, as David had dubbed him, slowed as he approached. Instantly, David saw several armed guards intermingled in the crowd around them.

He turned to Virgil. "Get out of here," he said. "If this goes bad, you'll need to get Gabrielle out of here."

Virgil hesitated, his hand straying to his sword hilt.

"Get!" David hissed.

Virgil stared at him darkly and then turned and fled deeper into the market.

"Ready for this?" David whispered as he stepped past Gabrielle.

"I'm so angry with you," she hissed behind him.

David stood before Gabrielle, just as a bounty hunter would do, protecting his prize.

"Well?" he asked, his glasses panning about the market and picking out the guards. There were at least a dozen of them now.

"Panicking now would be bad," he fought his nerves back in check and took a slow, deep breath.

"I have come to offer you quarters at the palace." The market manager said cordially. There was something smug in the way he said it that set an alarm off in David's head.

"I'm not staying," He replied. "I want to drop off the merchandise, get paid, and get moving. I've got other bounties to track."

"I understand, however, my Lord requests an audience with you tonight, after he has inspected the wares. At that moment, you will be compensated."

"Until then, the package stays with me," David said, his fingers tightening around the chain at Gabrielle's neck. "Otherwise, no deal."

"The guards standing about you are here to see to it that this is 'the deal', as you say." He smiled with smug satisfaction. David yanked Gabrielle in front of him, like a human shield. His knife at her throat.

"Your boys come at me, and I'll bleed her dry. How would your master feel about that?"

"The contract stated 'dead or alive'," the man shrugged.

David held his ground, and Gabrielle, her hands bound behind her, slowly reached up and touched him, signifying that he had played this game for all it was worth.

Reluctantly, David lowered his weapon and released Gabrielle. She stumbled forward.

Guards stepped up and relieved him of his knife, bow, quiver and sword.

"No weapons are permitted in my Lord's palace," The market manager stated flatly.

David looked at the half dozen guards surrounding him and growled.

"This is the last time I do business in this place." He growled. Then quickly added. "I'll be present when he "inspects" the merchandise. Understood?"

Gabrielle was led away towards the market, while David was ushered through the city towards the palatial estate of their enemy.

"I shall inform my Lord of your request," The market manager said.

David's hands were clenched in tight fists as he felt himself drawn further and further away from Gabrielle.

The guards led him into the main gates of the palace and through a lush garden. They entered the main living wing and David was deposited in a lavish guest room with an open balcony that gave him a good view of the garden below. He stood there, his fingers drumming on the stone rail as he fought to calm his nerves.

He was furious at several things. First that Gabrielle had taken it upon herself to attempt this little task on her own. Second, that she had enlisted the aid of someone else. And lastly, that he had not been able to control the situation in a way that had guaranteed her safety.

He paced impatiently about the room, barely noticing the fine furnishings.

No bow, no knife, no sword. He checked the door – locked. No obvious way out.

He tossed his long coat onto the massive bed and went back out to the balcony, staring down at the garden again and forcing his mind to work, remembering the layout of the palace.

The main gate was the only known way in or out, so when they finally did bring Gabrielle, he would at least be able to see her. That was a small comfort. Across from the residence was the main barracks, where Gurkhan's small army of personal guards was housed. Men in uniform could be seen moving about on that side of the property. David knew that, beneath that structure was the outer wing of the subsurface dungeons. To his right, he saw the massive edifice that was the home of his quarry. The tall rounded spire reaching like a rising balloon, covered in gold. Thick stone columns, polished mirror smooth, stretched over a wide dais that led into the main hall. Within the palace, beyond the main hall were the living quarters and the harem rooms, as well as kitchens and other guest quarters.

Also, the entrance to the dungeons was located off the main audience hall, so that those few who survived a meeting with the warlord could immediately be interred, their fates decided at a later date.

The main gate opened again, just before sundown and six more guards entered, surrounding Gabrielle. She moved unsteadily, and David could tell that the guards had worked her over a bit before bringing her to the palace. The "market manager" accompanied them, following behind like a little blue shadow, his hands clasped within the confines of his oversized robe.

The sight of Gabrielle in that state caused David's blood to boil afresh, and he fought to keep his temper in check.

Instead, he merely watched the guards escort her into the palace and he knew immediately that they would take her below. He silently prayed that they would leave her in a dark dungeon cell, rather than take her into the abattoir for more attention.

He went back in, now that there was nothing else to see. Glancing about quickly, he let his hand feel the buckle on his belt and heard the reassuring click of his small knife as it came free. He opened the blade, checked it and then slid the weapon back into its place on the front of the buckle.

"At least they didn't get everything," he said grimly. If he had to, he would kill Gurkhan in the audience chamber himself.

He suddenly realized the extraordinary change that had come over him in these past few weeks. Back in his time, there was law, and people did not need to defend themselves as violently and as often as they did here.

Before coming back two thousand years, he had rarely raised a hand to anyone, except in self defense, and that was usually because a drunken person had gotten a bit unruly. Still, no one had ever died by his hand until that first man in the car.

He remembered the car ramming into the back of his motorcycle, the decorative sword coming up in his hand and then flying through the windshield, just before he bounced off of it. Then again, he had killed, his first night here, protecting Gabrielle from a group of bounty hunters. And now, he was prepared to kill once again. He sighed with resignation.

"I'm really looking forward to that honeymoon," he sighed.

He spent another three agonizing hours, watching the sun sink into the western horizon before there was a polite knock on his door.

A young woman of about twenty years, with long dark hair, tan skin and wide, dark eyes stepped into the room. She was wearing nothing short of lingerie.

"Harem girl?" David's eyebrows rose. "That's all I flippin need."

He crossed his arms and stood – realizing that he was standing at the foot of the bed. He shifted away from that piece of furniture and fixed the woman with a dark look.

"Honored guest," the young woman dropped to one knee and bowed her head. "I am sent with the compliments of my Lord. I was instructed to see to your every desire. A token of thanks from the Mighty Gurkhan."

"Mighty Gurkhan," David thought. "Dumb son of a bitch won't even show his face in public."

"How may I please you, Lord?" she asked, her eyes fixed on the mosaic stones of the floor.

It was a tempting offer, to be sure. She was young, in her prime, beautiful and David had no doubt that she would be willing to accommodate any depraved fantasy he could devise.

"Oh, to be young and single again," he mused. Then he shoved that thought away.

"You may please me," David growled. "By taking me to your Lord."

She stiffened at that request. "I fear that you have asked the one thing that I cannot grant?" Her eyes looked up at him for an instant and David saw fear in them. He could see the waves of fear rippling out from her as she began to think that she was not good enough for his tastes. "Please, honored guest. Do not send me away. My Lord will be greatly displeased."

David moved to a large chair and seated himself, staring at her through the red lenses. He set his foot over his knee and folded his fingers before him, considering. Letting her stay there for a moment.

"You can stand up," he said gently. "The floor his extremely hard."

She did so, her eyes still glued to the ground before her feet. The gold decorating (and holding up) the skimpy clothing she wore, jingled musically and glittered in the light of the setting sun. Her long dark hair fell in curls over her narrow shoulders.

David had never beheld a "sex slave" before. He was mildly surprised to discover that he did not like the concept.

"Look at me," David said.

"It is not permitted," she countered, now truly frightened. That was twice in a matter of a few minutes that she had not been able to comply with the wishes of this guest.

"It is, if I wish it," David replied smoothly. Her eyes rose to face his, hidden behind the red mirrored glass.

"Lord?" she asked expectantly.

"What is your name?" David asked. This question surprised the young woman. She hesitated for a moment before saying quietly. "Niri."

"Niri," David repeated. "A very lovely name. Where are you from?"

Again, she seemed to hesitate. Whatever she had expected to happen, it was obvious that idle conversation had not been one of the options she had considered.

"I come from the Land of the Pharaohs," she replied nervously.

"Excellent!" David smiled. "Then perhaps you can help me?" He gestured to the chair next to his. "Would you sit down, please?"

Niri frowned. This whole series of events had her completely off track. The resignation she had projected when she stepped in was now replaced with a considerable amount of angst.

She stepped quickly to the chair and seated herself, back straight, and her hands in her lap.

David let his other foot fall to the floor and leaned forward. Niri stiffened suddenly, but only for a moment.

"You can relax, Niri," David said calmly. "Nothing bad is going to happen here. I just want to talk with you."

"Lord?" she asked.

"You're from the Land of the Pharaohs," David said. "I hear that it is a beautiful place?"

Niri nodded. "It rivals my Lord's lands."

"You can relax, Niri," David said again. "I prefer the truth when I speak with someone. Nothing said here, will be heard by your Lord."

"What can I tell you?" Niri asked, still quite nervous.

"Well," David mused. "I'm engaged to be married. And I was considering taking my new wife to your land for our honeymoon, so, where are the best places to go? Best inns? Tell me anything that I can use to convince her to take the trip?" He poured a goblet of fine wine and extended it to her.

Niri stared at him, completely dumbfounded, and then she actually and genuinely smiled.

She took the offered drink and immediately launched into a detailed description of her home.

Over an hour later, they were still in the middle of a conversation about touring the Nile when there was another knock at the door.

"Just a minute," David called, adding a layer of thickness to his voice. He leaned closer to Niri. "You can't walk out looking like that," he said. "They'll know nothing happened."

"What do you suggest?" She asked.

David went to the bed and messed it up quite thoroughly, and then he handed a sheet to her.

"Remove your clothes and put this about you," he said quickly, shedding his leather vest and shirt.

David turned his back politely as she did. Then he faced her and gently removed the golden headdress, tossing it on the floor opposite the bed. He looked at her critically and smiled.

"Well," he said, smiling. "You look like you've accomplished what your master requested."

She smiled again, this time in gratitude. The knock was repeated and David stepped to the door, mussing his own hair as he did, then he slouched slightly and pulled the door open, surprised to find it unlocked.

Niri followed dutifully.

David looked out at the face of a guard, about his age and slighter in build, standing before the door.

"What?" he asked in an annoyed voice.

"Honored guest," The guard said. "My Lord will see you now."

David opened the door further and Niri slid out past him, moving quickly down the hall.

The guard's expression changed to one of surprise, but only for a moment, then he stepped back, waiting as David threw his clothes back on.

"About time," he growled. He stood before the guard. "Well?"

"This way, honored Guest," The guard said, and he led David down the hallway towards the main palace. A second guard dropped in behind him and he watched the two men out of the corner of his eye, gauging them both.

"_He likes to play at palace guard,"_ Ares voice rang in his head. At the same time, another little bit of philosophy echoed through his mind.

"_Know your enemy as you know yourself and you shall always be victorious."_

David's eyes narrowed as he studied the two guards that were escorting him. If Gurkhan enjoyed playing a guard in his own home and the prize he was so driven to acquire had been delivered. Then he would certainly place himself near the action when it happened. Revenge serves no purpose if you're walking a beat while your underling has all the fun.

No, Gurkhan would be stationed within the main Audience Chamber if it was going down. He might even arrange for "Gurkhan" to order him to commit the murder. That would tie things up nicely. Provided Gabrielle hadn't been killed already.

David fought that cold lump of horror back into his belly. No, wealth meant eccentricities. The fact that his host chose to exist in a perpetual state of anonymity pointed to an extreme sense of theatricality. No, Gurkhan would want to do something grandiose and public, or at the very least, in front of a small audience, otherwise, why was David here? There had to be a witness. Someone had to perpetuate the mythos that was Gurkhan; otherwise, his bloodthirsty reputation would eventually waver.

As twisted as the thoughts were, they actually served to calm the growing fear that Gabrielle was already dead.

As they approached the door that led into the main audience chamber, David noticed that one of the guards standing vigil was the same one that had been in the marketplace earlier. He had been the same one that had went for his sword when David arrived.

"Suspect number one," David noted. The two guards turned and drew the doors opened before joining the procession into the main chamber.

The audience hall was vast and circular. David realized that they were standing beneath the enormous round dome. The chamber was circular, with tiered arched balconies circling it two stories above him.

The room was mostly empty, except for a large covered structure dominating the center of the room. The moonlight flooding the place seemed to not touch the interior, and David could see dozens of cushions lying about the floor. A single figure could be seen, standing behind one of the mesh screens within, cloaked in shadow. What seemed like hundreds of torches lined the lower wall, quietly crackling in the darkness.

On a table at the center front of the chamber were all of David's weapons and other gear. Two more guards stood watch over that table, their eyes fixed on the newcomer with dark intensity.

A voice, soft and menacingly smooth flowed from the concealment of the gazebo.

"Ah," it greeted him. "Our mysterious bounty hunter, here to claim his well deserved reward."

Something about the way that voice said "reward" made the hair stand up on the back of David's neck. He did his best to remain aloof and unconcerned, as if this sort of word play was common for him.

"So?" he asked, folding his hands before him, directly over the concealed knife in his belt buckle. "Where's my money?"

The same guard from the marketplace stepped forward and received two rather large purses from a shadowy hand. He turned and brought them toward David.

David looked down at the extended bags and smiled.

"Open them," he said. "And dump them out on the table."

The guard hesitated and looked back at the gazebo.

The shadowy figure nodded once.

David followed the guard to the table where his weapons lay. He drew the string and dumped the contents onto the polished stone. The coins clattered and fell musically, along with the two scorpions, hidden within the bags. They were not the large brown ones that he remembered seeing in movies. These were the smaller, lighter colored ones that he knew were hundreds of times deadlier.

David looked at the guard and then toward the shadowy form of Gurkhan.

"You see?" he said knowingly. "That isn't very nice. Now we can't do business in the future because I cannot trust you."

"On the contrary," The enigmatic voice replied. There was a hint of satisfaction in the melodious words.

"Now, I know that you are not a fool. So we can do business in the future."

David smiled. "In that case. My payment, and the girl?"

"Ah, yes," Gurkhan replied easily. He gestured with one hand and there was the sound of clanking chains as Gabrielle, beaten and bloody, was led stumbling into the room.

David's fury rose so quickly that he barely had time to wrest it under control. In his universe, no one struck a woman, let alone did that much damage!

"Well," He said tightly. "Someone was having fun with my property. You realize that this doesn't entitle you to a discount."

His eyes moved across the faces of the guards in the room. Suspect number one was barely concealing a smug smile.

"Strike two, you rat bastard," David thought.

"I understand that," Gurkhan replied easily. He snapped his fingers, and a second guard stepped forward with a small sealed silver chest. It was about the length and width of a modern day shoebox, gilded in fine silver.

David rolled his eyes towards the dome above.

"Open it," he repeated, trying to sound bored or annoyed. The guard did so and David saw the coins piled within.

"Do you wish to count it?" Gurkhan asked.

David smiled. "No, just have junior here, scoop it out of the chest and hand it to me."

The guard did so and David filled one pocket with the money, all while waiting for "Gurkhan" to make his move.

"Very well," Gurkhan finally said as David continued receiving his payment. "Guard, grant me my revenge."

The same guard stepped up and drew his sword.

"Strike three," David thought. He turned quickly. "Wait!"

The guard paused, looking up at the gazebo.

"You have something to say, honored guest?"

"I do," David said. He raised his shirt and exposed the knife wound. "I owe her for this. Let me repay that kindness. You have my word, Lord Gurkhan, that she won't die from my wound. She'll just scream a little."

Gurkhan seemed pleased by this and after a few moments of consideration he nodded.

"Very well. You have waited to request your revenge, and it would seem selfish of me to deny you your portion while taking mine. Do as you will."

Grinning, David took his long bowie knife and strode confidently over to stand before a kneeling Gabrielle. She looked up at him, her gaze resigned and yet hopeful at the same time.

David knelt down before her, the point of his blade tapping on the stone floor, just like in the woods before.

"You see," he said in the same tone that he had used in the woods that one day. "You've led me on quite a chase, and now, I end up in this place, seeing my friend, here, have all the fun. I should be irked, yes?"

That tone and the tambour of those words were music to Gabrielle's ears. It was David's Gurkhan act all over again. She looked at him, her eyes wide.

"Have you had enough?" he asked in that same manic tone. He rested the blade on Gabrielle's shoulder.

"_A-hay – oh, A-hay, A-hay, A-ho." _David chanted softly. He tapped the blade on the floor four times, and Gabrielle could almost feel the in rush of energy as David closed his eyes. He leveled the blade even with her belly, and then quick as lightning, the heavy carbon steel blade sliced down upon the manacles binding her wrists. There was a spark and the chains shattered as the energy blasted through them. David flipped the knife into Gabrielle's tingling fingers, and then leapt, kicking the guard closest to her in the throat. He came up with the guards' scimitar in his hand and dispatched a second one. Then he bolted for the gazebo.

All the weariness seemed to fade from Gabrielle as she took this one last desperate chance for survival. She turned and face off with two more guards, beating them back as she made for the table. She vaulted the low piece of furniture and scooped her sais up, dropping the heavy knife. Now back in her own fighting element, she held her own with more confidence.

"That's enough!" David's voice thundered a few moments later. He emerged from the gazebo with the mysterious "Gurkhan". His scimitar held at the man's throat.

He was a middle-aged man with dark hair and eyes, and smooth dark skin. His blue silk robes shimmered in the torchlight.

The guards froze in mid charge as David held their leader at bay.

"Drop the weapons, or the boss gets it!" David ordered.

The man in his clutches smiled. "They will not heed you, honored guest," he said smugly. "For I am not Gurkhan."

David leaned close and whispered in the man's ear.

"I know." Then his tone changed. "But, how would you like to be?"

"Gurkhan" raised his hands, staying the guards.

"What do you mean, honored guest?" he asked quietly, a bead of sweat trickling from beneath his fine white turban.

David smiled like a hungry dog. "I know who Gurkhan is. I'm probably one of a select few that really knows. If he dies here, no one need know about it but us, and you become the man you're playing."

"If I refuse?" The imposter asked.

"Then he dies, and so do you," David said. "Along with anyone else that gets in our way."

"And what is the price of this arrangement?" the imposter asked, still trying to put on a good front.

"Gabrielle and I walk out of here, free." David said. "The bounty on her head is cancelled, and we never see you or any of your thugs again."

"What guarantee do I have that you will honor our arrangement?' The imposter asked.

"You have my word," David said seriously. "One warrior to another. If you do not hunt us, we will not hunt you."

The guard from the marketplace was stewing, his temper beginning to wear away at his façade.

The imposter considered for a moment that stretched out to a small eternity. Then he nodded. "Agreed."

"Traitor!" The guard shouted and he charged David and the imposter.

"Him!" David shouted, and Gabrielle spun, letting one of her sais go whistling through the air. It struck the charging warlord in the side of the chest and knocked him across the room. He slid against the wall and lay still. A pool of blood began to seep from beneath his armor, spreading like a red pond on the smooth white marble floor.

David released the imposter as Gabrielle stepped over to the fallen Gurkhan. She drew her sai out and wiped it clean on the dead man's pants before sliding them both back into her boots.

The remaining guards raised their weapons, ready to resume the attack, but the imposter held up his hands.

"Stay your swords," he said in a commanding tone. The guards did as instructed and move back, away from the two strangers.

"I have my vengeance," the new Gurkhan said, staring at Gabrielle with a look that was almost sympathetic. "This game is ended. These two are free to leave. You will not hinder them in any way, nor will the guards at the gates keep them from leaving. See that my orders are spread to every soldier in the city and send messengers to the outlying lands. This contract has been fulfilled. It is over."

David collected his weapons and gear from the nearby table, all while watching the guards to ensure that none of them got ambitious.

Once he was ready, he turned back to the new warlord and bowed his head.

"Do not return to Mogador," Gurkhan said. "You will not be welcome here."

"If I return, Lord Gurkhan," David nodded. "One of us will end up dead, and it won't be me."

Then, David wrapped an arm gently around the battered Gabrielle and led her, limping, out of the chamber. The guards, reluctantly, let them depart.

David did not rush her as they moved through the darkened streets. No guard of Gurkhan's army hindered their departure. They passed the city gates without incident and made their way down, slowly, toward the docks.

"David?" Gabrielle began.

"We'll talk after I've had time to calm down," David growled. "You do not want to start this with me now."

From that point, aside from the occasional word of support or encouragement, David said nothing to his future wife.


	4. Reconciliation

**Reconciliation**

Hazim watched the two strangers leave the audience chamber. When they were finally gone, he breathed a sigh of relief and directed two other guards to remove the corpse lying against the wall. His hands clasped behind his back and he paced about for a while, deep in thought.

"Well, Hazim," A voice said from the balcony above. Hazim looked up and saw the silhouette of a man standing near the pale stone arch. "It would seem that this little game has gone rather well for you?"

Hazim placed his right hand over his heart and bowed.

"My Lord Gurkhan," he said humbly. "I only played this part to the limits you prescribed. I trust you are not disappointed?"

The shadow folded its arms across its chest, and there was a gentle laugh. "I think there would have been ways to finish out this game without costing the life of a Successor. You know what pains are taken to procure men of the right temperament to continue the name of Gurkhan. Jaleel would have been the next one."

"Indeed, Lord," Hazim agreed, suddenly nervous. "Yet the stranger, this David, saw through the guise and manipulated him into revealing his true identity. I have no doubt that he could have discovered our true purpose if Jaleel had lived."

The shadow considered that for a moment. "It is possible, I'll grant. Still, this has been a costly endeavor. More so than I had intended to pay."

"They have not yet left the city, My Lord," Hazim suggested. "They can still be brought back here?"

"No," the shadowy figure replied. "Gabrielle and Xena played the first part, by allowing us to cleanse the house of Gurkhan so we could reset the stage. The money in the stranger's pockets is her payment for that service."

The figure stepped towards the light and his cool gray eyes looked down at his elder subordinate with cold mirth.

"Do you truly understand why the House of Gurkhan has existed for two centuries? How we have maintained this facade long enough to continue our work?" He paced back and forth, musing. "It is in the blood of warlords that we gain our passion and strength, and in the consideration of those who have retired to the council that we maintain our wisdom."

Hazim stared up at the young Greek man in wonder. Even the boldest of the Gurkhan Warlords had never shown their faces to an elder before retirement.

"Tell me," the young man said, still musing. "Did David accept my gift of the young girl?"

"He created a clever illusion," Hazim replied. "So as not to insult you. However, she did not have him. The bed, though unruly, was cold."

"He is a very, very clever man," The real Gurkhan said, his thumb and forefinger stroking his chin. "Though, I'm sure he did learn something."

"Lord?" Hazim asked.

Gurkhan smiled and looked down at his advisor. "David is planning to take his betrothed to Egypt after their ceremony. I thought it would be fitting to give him the gift of an Egyptian woman for the evening. Even if nothing happened between them, Niri played her part. There will be just enough suspicion generated by this, to keep the young Bard's heart uncertain."

"So," Hazim asked. "Then the Bounty on the young woman is truly cancelled?"

"Yes," Gurkhan replied. He swung his legs over the low railing and dropped to the floor below with the grace of a cat. It was a grace in movement that he rarely showed in public.

"This action has had the desired result. There is a wedge between them now, which is what I wanted." He smiled again. "And I will be there just enough to tap that wedge further, a bit at a time, until the gulf between them is unbridgeable. Without the Warrior Princess to fall back on, Gabrielle will have no one else to turn to, and in the end, with the correct words, and proper timing, she will be mine." He shrugged. "And if she chooses otherwise? She will die."

"You understand, My Lord," Hazim said cautiously. "That your time is running short. You must produce an heir to the title within the next five years. Perhaps this is not the wisest course of action to follow. This David seems most formidable?"

"Indeed," Gurkhan replied. "But consider the gain to the house of Gurkhan? The bloodline of my Grandfather, mixed with the warrior bloodline of the extinct Amazon Nation? What does it matter that my own father was a bumbling idiot? The combination of our two families could produce the greatest warlord that the house of Gurkhan has ever seen! The potential gains make it worth the risk!" Gurkhan smiled with a face that would have sent normal men screaming in fear. A face that could have buried the greatest heroes in the ancient world. He smiled with the face of Virgil.

"One way, or another," Virgil said. "Gabrielle will be mine, and our child will become the greatest warrior in the world." He began to laugh in a way that was more menacing, more filled with lust and ambition than any of his "friends" in the real world beyond would have seemed possible.

"In the mean time," Virgil continued. "Continue as we have for the next year. I will return with my friend and her betrothed," he spat the word as if it were venom. "So that I can see our plans continue as I have laid out. Continue our other operations in Greece and Gaul. The Council will meet again in one year to consider the options for the next generation." His manner and voice shifted suddenly and he looked, once again, as the young, enthusiastic son of Gabrielle's late friend. "I had better get down to the docks ahead of them, so I can secure our passage and make sure they're alright."

Hazim's face changed to a smile that was cold as a mountain stream.

"Of all the warriors to hold the name Gurkhan," he said appreciatively. "I think you wear the two masks of the face the best. In one year, My Lord."

Virgil turned and vanished down a second passage at a casual jog.

David assisted Gabrielle down the last few steps and began looking for a ship that was readying to leave.

They spied Virgil sitting on a small rough bench, his hands wringing nervously.

"Hey, kid," David called. "Over here!"

Virgil looked up and smiled in relief, then his face changed to concern as he saw Gabrielle, battered and bruised, moving stiffly with David.

"Gabrielle?" Virgil asked. "By the Gods, are you alright?"

"I will be," Gabrielle said weakly. "I just need to rest for a while."

"Stay with her," David said. "I need to try and find us a ship."

"Oh," Virgil said quickly. "I already found one. It's leaving in the morning, but the Captain said we could go aboard whenever we wanted."

"And how did you manage that?" David asked.

Virgil gulped. "I told him that you would take care of the, um, passage?"

"Which ship?" David asked.

Virgil pointed down the dock to a small freighter that was loading supplies and cargo. "That one, there," he offered.

David helped Gabrielle settle onto the seat and then stalked off to pay for the passage.

Virgil looked after him angrily and then back at Gabrielle.

"This is his idea of a good plan?" he said, and then he snapped his mouth shut when he saw the look on Gabrielle's face. "I'm sorry. I should keep my mouth shut."

Gabrielle smiled grimly, though the pain in her eyes was from more than just the recent beatings she had endured.

"No," she said. "It's alright."

She watched David speaking with the captain of the ship. After a feew moments, David looked over at them and then they saw money change hands, and sighed.

"This is mostly my fault." She finally admitted.

"How is this," Virgil gestured to her. "Your fault?" His expression was a mix of concern and frustration. "If I had been there – " he started, but Gabrielle put a hand on his arm.

"You couldn't have done anything, Virgil," she said.

"I wouldn't have let them do that to you, Gabrielle," Virgil said angrily. "I would have –"

"You would have been killed," Gabrielle finished for him. "I know what your trying to say and I appreciate it. But there was no way for either of you to prevent this. You did all you could."

"Yeah, maybe," Virgil replied, unconvinced. He rubbed his hands together, his eyes said he was thinking furiously. In retrospect, yes he might have been able to come up with something, but at the time?

"Look," he said suddenly. "You're my friend, Gabrielle. I don't want you to get hurt. And I definitely didn't want this to happen! I just thought it would be simple, you know. In and out, and you could be back with David before he knew what happened?"

"That was the idea," Gabrielle nodded. She shrugged painfully as David began walking back toward them.

His eyes were still filled with dark anger and something else as he looked down at them.

"Man," Virgil said. "He's still angry."

"I think," Gabrielle acknowledged. "He's going to be mad at me for a while."

David stood before them, still glowering at them as he looked down at Gabrielle.

"The captain said we could go aboard whenever we want," he informed them. "I told him that we had a wounded companion. He said you could use his cabin." He looked down at Gabrielle and his gaze softened a little. He offered her his hand up. "Come on. Lets get you settled in."

They got Gabrielle situated in the cabin. She lay on a layer of thick cushions and tried to get comfortable.

"I'm not going to be able to stay here without getting seasick," she said, knowing how these kinds of voyages went.

David reached into his coat and pulled a small silver packet from the inside pocket. He broke the seal and handed the small pill to her.

"Take this," he offered. "It'll help."

"What is it?" she asked.

"Dramamine," David replied. "Helps with motion sickness." He rose and stepped to the door. "This may be a bit of a surprise, but I hate boat trips as much as you do." He pulled another pill out of the packet and popped it into his mouth. Then he left.

Gabrielle watched the closed door for a moment, wishing vainly that he would come back in and hold her, but knowing that he was too angry to consider it.

"Boy," she said as she swallowed the tiny pill. "I really know how to get myself into trouble."

The trip went smoothly and Gabrielle didn't get seasick once, though she felt sick at heart. David said very little to her the entire trip, and Virgil simply kept a respectful distance for the first couple of days, allowing David to cool off, and not approaching Gabrielle for fear of re-igniting that fire. Finally, on the fourth day of the journey, he came and leaned against the rail next to the big man, looking out at the sea.

"You know," he offered sincerely. "The entire time we were on our way there, all she did was talk about you." He laughed nervously. "I feel like I've known you for years."

"On the way there?" David said. He turned his red glasses to face the younger man. His expression was set in stone.

"Look, Virg," he said. "I'm sure you're a real cool guy to hang with. But anyone that would put her life in that kind of danger doesn't rank to high on my social list right now, got it?" He turned back to the expanse of water for a moment, and then he turned and faced Virgil again. "And why in the name of all that's holy didn't you try and talk her out of it in the first damn place?"

Virgil started slightly at the vehemence of the question. He shrugged and rubbed his hands together.

"Have you ever tried to talk her out of something, once her mind was made up?" He asked.

"Yeah!" David retorted.

"Did it work?" Virgil asked.

David opened his mouth to speak, and then closed it again. He sighed. "No. Once she's got her mind set, all you can do is go along for the ride."

"She didn't want me to come along either," Virgil offered. "She was set on doing this all by herself. I had to fight just to get her to let me tag along. I figured, since I couldn't talk her out of it, and I couldn't get back to Poditea in time?" He shrugged. "I'm sorry about what she did. But I know why she did it. Don't be mad at her for that."

David seemed about to say something, but just then, the cabin door opened and Gabrielle emerged, moving stiffly, but looking much stronger.

Her injuries had faded somewhat, though her face still bore some of the cuts and bruises.

David looked at her and then turned and moved forward, a low growl issuing from his throat.

Gabrielle watched him go and then looked at her friend. Virgil looked at David and then back and slowly shook his head.

Once back home, David spent a good deal of time away from Lila's small home while Gabrielle healed.

One morning, Gabrielle rolled over in her bed and found David's sleeping roll empty, yet again. She pulled herself out of bed and padded groggily into the small kitchen.

Lila was cleaning up the last of a morning meal.

"Hey Gabrielle," he said, smiling. "You just missed David."

Gabrielle nodded.

"Are you hungry?" Lila asked, trying desperately to keep the mood light. "I can make you something?"

Gabrielle shook her head.

"I really screwed up," Gabrielle asked as she sat down at the table. "Didn't I?"

Lila finished wiping the plate she was cleaning and smiled.

"Yes, honey," she said. "You really did."

"Is it wrong for me to want to keep him safe?" Gabrielle asked, her own frustration rising. "I just don't want anything to happen to him!"

"I know you don't," Lila said, seating herself across from Gabrielle. "It isn't that you didn't want him to get hurt. That's not why he's angry."

"Then why?" Gabrielle asked.

"You didn't give him the chance to make the choice," Lila answered.

"I know what his choice would have been," Gabrielle said. "And he was in no condition, Lila, you know that."

"Yes," Lila nodded. "And so does David. But he never got the chance to make that decision. You took it away from him. He loves you Gabrielle. He loves you as much as mom and dad ever did. You hurt him when you ran off like that." She stared at Gabrielle for a long time. "You never would have done something like that when Xena was here."

"Xena's not here anymore, Lila," Gabrielle said. "I don't want the same thing to happen to David, or you, or Sara. I want you all safe."

"David doesn't feel safe right now," Lila said. "He feels betrayed. I think the two of you need to have a long talk. And expect him to be angry with you when it starts. He has every right to be."

"Do you know where he is?" Gabrielle asked hopefully.

Lila nodded. "He's been spending a lot of time out at the old house, though I don't know what he's been doing there?"

Gabrielle thanked her sister and left the house. As she moved out beyond the old walls of the village, she began to feel as though she was walking back in time, into her childhood.

There were the neighbors kids, running up and down the muddy road after a rainstorm, laughing as they got filthy in the splashing water. There was Beltius, following the ox as he plowed his field for the spring corn. And around the bend, her old home.

She felt a pang of sorrow when she saw the dilapidated old house. One side of it had collapsed in a recent storm, and it looked like the rest would soon follow.

As she slowed her strides, she began to hear a rhythmic whacking sound coming from behind the partially wrecked structure.

She moved around the house and realized it was the sound of fists striking something.

Whap..whap….whap, whap, whap…whap, whap, "H-ya!" Whap!

She peered around the corner and saw David, his back to her, punching a vertical wooden post. The top part was wrapped in thick rope. Not much of a cushion and Gabrielle could see splotches of what had to be dried blood on the surface.

David's body was covered in a sheen of sweat, and his hair hung in a wet ponytail down his back. His powerful shoulders flexed with each and every move.

He stopped and leaned against the target for a few moments, catching his breath. Gabrielle took a step forward. Then David straightened and cut loose with another series of strikes. A growl began somewhere in his throat and rose to a shout of rage as he spun around and hit the target with a devastating kick. The board unearthed itself and went sliding through the earth.

He cursed softly and bent to retrieve a thick wooden mallet, then he stepped over and pulled the post back up, setting it back into its hole and pounding it deeper into the ground.

"David?" Gabrielle asked.

He stopped and looked back at her.

"Oh," he said simply. "Hi." Then he went back to pounding the post.

Once he was satisfied, he stepped back and resumed a fighting stance. His hands began pounding the post again with relentless energy.

Gabrielle circled around to face him. His eyes were set, focused on the target, and his fists pounded unceasingly against the rope pad.

"David?" Gabrielle asked again.

"Yeah," David continued his relentless assault on the post.

"David, we need to talk," Gabrielle said nervously.

"Fine," David replied, still punishing the post. "Talk."

Gabrielle watched as the post began vibrating more and more with each of his strikes. After two whole weeks, he was still that angry.

"David, I'm sorry," Gabrielle stammered, not even sure if he was paying attention. "I never should have left you here and gone off like that. It was stupid, and cruel to you, and-"

David's fist slammed into the post once more, setting it to wobble dangerously. He cried out in frustration and turned, walking away a few paces, his hands on his hips, his shoulder flexing as he breathed deeply.

Gabrielle had a sense of a volcano standing before her, ready to explode. She mentally braced herself for the coming immolation.

David looked up at the sky for a moment, and then he turned and faced her. Sweat was dripping down his face and chest, and his breath heaved. He looked her square in the eye.

"Do you want me in your life, or not?" he asked.

Gabrielle was stunned. "What?"

David stepped up before the post. "Do you want me in your life, or not?" he asked again, more slowly. He reset himself and began punishing the target again.

Gabrielle didn't know what to say for a moment. That question was so outrageous to her.

"Yes," she said flatly. "Of course I do! You know I do!"

"Do I?" David replied, his hands slamming into the target. "After that pretty patch of bullshit you pulled! I'm not so sure!" His fist blasted the post again, and this time, it cracked and fell in two pieces.

"Son of a bitch," David cursed, and he went over to a stack of discarded posts. He lifted one up and began wrapping the end with rope from a coil lying on the ground.

"David," Gabrielle said, feeling his anger even from that distance. "I said I was sorry. It was wrong for me to leave you like that. I just-"

David set the post down and stood.

"Where I come from, we have a little saying," he said angrily. "In for a penny, in for a pound."

Gabrielle watched him and realized that it was more than just anger she felt in his gaze. It was the same expression that she remembered outside that police station, in his world. There was anger, yes, but there was also pain.

"I knew that coming back here would be a risk," David continued. He picked up the post again and resumed preparing his next target. "And I wasn't looking for a god damned fairy tale! I've read enough history to know that life here is a hell of a lot harder than where I came from, but I didn't care! I wanted to be a part of your life, for better or worse! It's that simple! I knew there were things that would come up! Things that you brought with you! This is probably the only relationship in history where the baggage is one sided because all the shit I've pulled in my life won't happen for another two thousand years! I thought that might make things easier, but man was I off on that one!"

Gabrielle sat down on a pile of broken wood, and suddenly realized they were other unfortunate posts that David had been pummeling for the last few days.

"You have to understand," she said softly. "Xena and I made a lot of enemies over the years. Some of them are going to want to get even with me, especially since Xena-"

David slammed the post on the ground.

"I DON'T CARE!" he roared. "What part of that don't you understand, huh? I don't give a ragged rat's ass if the entire Roman Army is parked outside our door tomorrow, looking for their pound of flesh! If Atilla the Hun stopped by, I'd tell him what he could go do with himself! I don't care about what's in your past!"

Gabrielle tried to lighten the mood.

"Atilla the what?"

It didn't work. He simply stared at her, and this time there was no explosion of frustration. There was simple, solid, steel resignation.

"I don't like being played, Gabrielle. You want me involved, then it's all the way," he said finally. "All the way, or not at all. Either I'm a part of your life – your whole life, or I'm gone. You decide, right here, right now! I will not spend the rest of my life wondering when I'll wake up one morning to find you gone!"

She stared at him, and the weight of those words began to feel like a stone around her neck. A sudden fear tightened about her heart as she realized that he was serious. He would walk away that moment, if it came to that. She also saw the fear in his eyes.

The gauntlet had been thrown. He was hoping that he wouldn't have to go. At the same time, he was afraid that she might hold something back, and then there would be no discussions, no chance for an apology. She had an image of him, walking out of her life forever, and it frightened her more than the countless times she had faced death in the past.

"David," she said. "It's not that I don't love you. I do. I'm just as afraid of losing you. I thought that I could give you the life you were expecting, and still keep my demons to myself. You shouldn't have to deal with all those things. They were my responsibility, not yours. I'd rather have you alive and hate me –"

"Then dead and loving you?" David finished. Apparently, he had heard that line before.

He came over and stood before her.

"Which type of death is worse?" he asked. "Dying at the side of the person you love, knowing that you've treasured every moment up to that point, or walking about, dead on the inside until your body decides, one day, just to quit. You have to know that I could never hate you to begin with, no matter what you did?" He sighed. "That's not to say I can't be angry with you, because, right now, I am."

She reached up to take his hand and unwrapped the cloth binding his knuckles. She saw the dried blood on the cracked skin. She kissed it gently and pulled him down to her, wrapping her arms around him and holding him tightly.

"I promise," she whispered. "If there's anything, we'll face it together."

It took a moment before she realized that he was actually trebling as he held her, and it wasn't from his recent physical exertions.

"You are the better part of my soul, Gabrielle," he whispered back. "If I have to lose you, someday, I want to at least have a fighting chance to stop it."


End file.
